


Proud of You

by thefluffyswede



Category: Big Hero 6 (2014)
Genre: Action, Drama, Family, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-02
Updated: 2017-04-15
Packaged: 2018-03-04 22:12:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,182
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3092798
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefluffyswede/pseuds/thefluffyswede
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Instead of trying out for the institute, Hiro runs away from his family to become a bot-fighter. When that does not work out, he refuses to go home out of pride. Seven years later, he finds himself working as a vigilante in order to survive, under a man who manipulates him.</p><p>********Chapter 3 depicts physical abuse. It is not described in detail but PLEASE be careful.*********</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, hello. This is my first fanfic in a while, so I may be rusty. Obviously this first chapter is kinda short and doesn't explain much. But the next one will, I promise. This was to get the ball rolling. I hope you enjoy this one though and I hope you're curious about it.
> 
> I'm not 100% sure where this is going yet. Although this is a family fic between Cass, Hiro, and Tadashi. Sooooo very little to no romance, I hope that's OK. :)
> 
> This fic is heavily inspired by Proud Of Your Boy from the Aladdin Broadway Musical.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy. Thank you for reading. <3 I'll see you next chapter.

Hiro lay in the muddy puddle, staring up at the rainy sky, blinking only when droplets unceremoniously plopped close to his eyes. It had been seven years since the argument that sent him running out of the doors of his aunt’s café occurred. He had been fourteen and those years had not done him wrong. Now at twenty-one, he was taller, stronger and his face had also grown into his new body. He could remember his older brother’s features, he could compare himself to him except his face still had kept a slightly rounded shape.

Stiffly, he sat up and when he did, he could feel himself sink more into the mud. Damn, that had hurt. At least he had gotten it, even if he had fallen ten feet from a hover craft and nearly broken his back. If it had not been for the soft mud and experience falling from taller heights, he’d probably be hurting much worse.

Rotating his shoulder and popping his neck, he stood up and began to meander back toward the city. He placed the back of his hand against his chin, about to wipe any mud from it when he flinched. Right, at some point his face had been scraped across pavement. A thought that he should take better care of his body dashed through his mind behind he quickly swept it away. He was nothing more than an ex-bot fighter, now  _sometimes_  vigilante who  _sometimes_ made the third page in the San Fransoyko news. Hiro was not anything special. No one would miss him.

It took him thirty minutes to reach the city limits. He wrapped himself tighter with his thin coat that was not suitable for the oncoming winter, “Only twenty more blocks.” he whispered. No one was on the streets with him, they would be crazy to be. Even the homeless were tucked away in whatever shelter they had managed to scrounge up. Hiro did not blame them, rain at night in San Fransokyo was freezing.

Finally, he reached a run down apartment building. He ascended the stoop and was about to open the front door when a head popped up from behind the stairwell.

"Hiroo! Did you get it?" the man’s eyebrows wiggled slightly as he stared up at the twenty-one year old.

Despite Hiro’s instinctive dislike for the man, he fought back the urge to groan, “Of course I did,” he said, turning the key to the door, “Do I ever fail?”

"The moment you do you’re never getting into this apartment building again!" the man told him in an equally chipper voice as the first time. Hiro managed to somehow swallow back a bit of vomit that had threatened to come up his throat. "Let’s see it then!"

Hiro pulled a micro-chip from his pocket and placed it in the man’s outstretched hand, “Good, good. This is perfect. I’ll have another job for you in a couple days.”

"That’s going back to its owner, right?" Hiro squinted his eyes at his employer.

"Of course. Don’t worry about it. Just be ready for your next job." Without another word, the man descended into the lower level of the apartment.

Hiro let out a huff and walked into his apartment, “What an ass.” he murmured, beginning to strip muddy clothing off one piece at a time. He didn’t have a washing machine, he’d have to clean them all by hand. At least this place had running water and power. Outside of that Hiro was left to his own devices. With the money he had gotten from his time bot-fighting, he was able to purchase a high-power tablet and some decent clothing. The rest he hid away. He was saving that money if he ever really needed it. He had quit bot-fighting not long after he had run away from home. It had been too risky, the police could have easily found him and forced him to face his family. Living on the streets for three months had been hard, but he had eventually met the creepy man downstairs and he made Hiro a deal. Work for him and he could live in one of the apartments in his building. Freshly fifteen Hiro Hamada had not known what he had gotten himself into by agreeing.

Months passed, the man worked him hard. And everything he did when he was a teenager was preparing him for the moment he would start retrieving stolen property and fetching dangerous items from people who didn’t realize what they were. Through those years he had become stronger, more agile. He had grown up, not in the way Tadashi would have wanted him to.

Tadashi…

Hiro plopped his clothing into the kitchen sink and entered his bedroom. It was barren, like the rest of the house, but this was where he could look out at the skyline of San Fransokyo and sometimes he could swear that he could see the outline of the giant cat on his aunt’s cafe in the distance.

He ran his finger tips over the top of the desk that had come with the apartment. On it, there was clippings from the newspaper with pictures that accompanied them. One was of his aunt, standing in front of her cafe with an aged Mochi in her arms. In the article it had talked about her not opening another cafe, but two more. His heart welled at the thought of there being three Lucky Cats out in the city somewhere. Where they were exactly, he didn’t know. But that didn’t stop the pride that prickled at his eyes.

The other two were pictures of Tadashi, one with him holding a trophy while standing next to his invention, Baymax and the second of him slicing the ribbon in front of a building named after him on university grounds. Tadashi Hamada had become a success story practically over night. After he released Baymax to the public, people wanted to hire him or buy his design from him. Tadashi refused every single offer and started his own company with his friend, who now even the public knew him as, Wasabi. The company grew quickly, and from what Hiro could see, it was doing well.

Staring at the pictures did it. Silent tears spilled over his eye lids and down his cheeks. He wiped him away, barely wincing when he accidentally pressed too hard on a bruise. This was what he had given up after he had had a stupid argument with Tadashi. He missed him and Aunt Cass. It hurt him more than anything to be away from his family, but after all these years Hiro couldn’t go back and face them. What would he possibly say? How could they possibly take him back?

It was better for him to just stay away…


	2. Chapter 2

Banging on his front door jolted Hiro awake. He sat up, quietly realizing he had fallen asleep with the newspaper pictures in his hands. Laying them gingerly on his bed, he got to his feet and stumbled over to the door. He did not bother putting on any clothing besides the long coat on the hook next to the door.

“Hirooooo!”

Hiro stopped mid-turn of the door knob. It was _him._ He had said last night that he was going to have another assignment for him in a few days. Sighing, Hiro opened the door only partly.

“Oh good, you're awake.” Samuel said, squinting at Hiro. He was wiping his thick glasses off on his shirt and couldn't see him properly. Hiro took the opportunity to give the man a dirty look. Once his glasses were back on, Samuel cleared his throat, “I have another job for you.”

Hiro tried to hold back a groan, but failed. Luckily, he was able to play it off as him being tired by stretching his arms and yawning. “What is it?” he asked.

“Helicopter drop off. You'll be picking up a package.”

“Is it going to be dangerous?”

“Probably. I'd take those invention things that you pride in so much this time. You know, if you're as smart as your high school diploma says you are.”

Hiro only nodded, grinding his teeth. This was what he needed to do to survive. He had to grin and bear it. How long was he going to let Samuel push him around, though? How long before he could no longer take it, going out and risking his, albeit pathetic, life?

“The drop off will be at the top of San Fransokyo Tower. At 2 PM. You will succeed in bringing the package to Taro's Bar and Grill by 4 PM or there will be dire consequences.”

Long ago, he had learned how to not ask questions of the short, older man. He could remember how it felt when Samuel had bashed his wooden cane against Hiro's jawline when he was sixteen and he did not need a repeat of the incident. He only nodded.

“Good, I will see you soon, then. Remember, this is all for the greater good of the people.” Samuel turned around and limped down the stoop. Hiro quietly closed the door and slid down it.

What had he gotten himself into?

–

The train to San Fransokyo Tower was packed. Hiro kept his head down, knowing too well that he was still considered a missing person. He had seen pictures of him in stores, one of when he was fourteen, and one that had been digitally aged up using a picture of Tadashi when he was twenty-one. Frankly, the resemblance had been terrifying. Anyone who had seen one of those posters could peg him for Hiro Hamada, the younger brother of a powerful CEO who went missing seven years ago.

Luckily, none of them seemed to notice him... expect for a little girl who kept glancing at him from her mother's side. He buried his chin in his scarf, trying to not look at the girl. Her black hair was pulled into pig tails and she was wrapped up in a pink, cozy looking coat. She would occasionally try to get her mother's attention from the book she was reading and try to point Hiro out to her, but her mother was far too engrossed in her novel.

People began to trickle out of the train, still the girl and her mother remained. Five stops remaining until they reached the tower. Four, three, two. Half way to the last stop, the girl finally got fed up with her mother's negligence of her and took matters into her own hands. She hoped off her seat and walked across the train to Hiro.

“You look familiar.” she said, staring up at him with a finger on her chin and one hand on a rail.

Hiro didn't say anything. He tried with all his might to avoid looking at the girl, even going as far to stare at another passenger who had fallen asleep in their seat. But what she said next made him raise an eyebrow at her.

“You kind of look like Mr. Hamada. I got to meet his invention, Baymax, once,” the little girl smiled, “He came to our school and spoke about our health... I want to be a doctor because of him!”

He would not have admitted it to anyone, but it warmed his heart to hear. So Tadashi was really making a difference in people's lives. That had been all he had wanted, all he ever really heard from his older brother while they were still living under the same roof.

“Are you related to Mr. Hamada? Are you going to visit him?”

Hiro pursed his lips, “No, I'm not related to Mr. Hamada.”

“Ah, well he's speaking at a science exhibit in the Tower today. That's what me and mama are going to.” she grinned widely, excitement written clearly across her face.

His heart dropped into his stomach. Tadashi would be at the San Fransokyo Tower today? “What time is the speech?” he asked, swallowing down sudden nerves.

“Twoo!” the girl squeaked, jumping a little on her toes, “I can't wait to hear what he'll say, he's my idol!”

“Aoi?” a panicked voice called, the woman who the girl was with had suddenly realized that her daughter had disappeared. Hiro saw her stand up and immediately stuffed his face back into his scarf. He did not need to be seen as a strange man talking to an innocent child.

“Coming mom!” Aoi called to her mother. She quickly turned back to him, “Well I hope you get to listen to him talk.” she skipped away back to her mother.

So... Tadashi was going to be at the tower at two. Hiro pulled his hand from his coat pocket and stared at the round contraption on the palm of his glove, one of his inventions that helped him scale walls. Maybe if he were to get the package, he could listen to what his brother had to say before he had to drop it off.

The train came to a stop. Most everyone on spilled out onto the platform, including him. He looked up at the tower in amazement. He had not been to it since he was at least eight years old. It was still as grand and as large as he remembered it. It reigned over the city, in shape it was similar to the Eiffel Tower, but instead of beams upon beams it actually had floors and rooms. It being a national monument was only one side of the coin, it was often used for conventions and very prestigious parties. No wonder Tadashi was speaking here. He was prestigious now, after all.

Hiro cut his way through the crowd and into the building. He took note of all the signs that said, “Tadashi Hamada, 2 PM, on the 23rd floor.” and kept moving toward the elevator. When he arrived at the roof, he still had five minutes to spare. It was windy, and the rain clouds had not completely cleared out of the city, but it was pleasant. He stared out into the bay, watching the waves lap over each other. What a view. He never got to appreciate the little things like this, being able to enjoy the visuals of the water. Not ever since he had become a missing person.

The sound of helicopter blades interrupted his peace of mind. He had almost forgotten why he had come here. Hiro turned to watch a unmarked helicopter land not too far away from where he stood. A woman got out with a brown paper wrapped package that was about the size of a really thick book. She placed the package on the ground and returned to her seat. Before he knew it, she was gone and all that remained was the box. Hiro went over to it and placed it in his backpack. Easy enough. And he still had two hours to make it to the drop off point. This job was going to be a piece of cake.

Now to make it down to the 23rd floor before Tadashi was done speaking. Excitement filled him at the very thought of seeing his brother again in person, even if it was from afar. He could not have smiled harder at the very idea. But every second that passed in the elevator going down made him realize how nervous he actually was. His brother, now a successful CEO... he would be horrified to see what had become of Hiro. Before he could change his mind, the elevator opened and he stepped out onto the 23rd floor.

It was packed. He pushed his was into the auditorium that had signs outside lamenting the fact that the great CEO, Mr. Hamada, was speaking inside. Hiro settled into the darkness. He bit his lip and focused on his brother, fighting back his nerves and want to bolt away.

“Tadashi.” he murmured, his eyes becoming fogged over almost instantly.

His brother's voice boomed through the auditorium. He was talking about the importance of science and robotics and how his company was working toward combining it more with the medical field with every passing year. Every word he spoke filled Hiro up to the ears with happiness for his brother. He really was making a difference in the world.

Hiro couldn't help but take a few steps forward, to get a better look. What he had not expected to see was the glint of something metallic that briefly caught the light from the stage. He took his eyes off his brother and strained them against the dark. Then he saw it again, this time he knew what it was. And it was pointed straight at his brother.

Blood pounding in his ears, he couldn't hear if he had actually screamed something before he went into auto pilot. His hand hit the button on his chest piece and a pair of wings ripped out from underneath his coat without damaging his backpack. Thrusters on, he pelted through the air and slammed into Tadashi just in time for the bullet to find his leg instead of Tadashi's head. Hiro let out a hiss of pain as he felt the bullet glide through his flesh. They tumbled to the stage floor. The audience was in a panic, police officers were running for the stage and towards where the gun had been fired.

Hiro groaned, slowly beginning to stand up. His leg burned where the bullet had entered it. Blinking, he held back a cry of pain by pressing his teeth against his lip. Struggling, he made it up onto his knees and elbows when he heard a quiet voice say his name.

“Hiro... Hiro is that really you?”

Oh no.

Hiro slowly turned his gaze to see a dumbfounded looking Tadashi staring at him. It took all his willpower not to melt right there, throw away his backpack and leave here with his brother. Instead, he bolted up, moaning in pain from putting weight on his injured leg, and ran.

“Hiro! No don't go!” Tadashi scrambled to his feet in pursuit. Hiro wouldn't let him catch up. Again, his thrusters engaged and he went crashing through the door, over the heads of people, through a window and into the open sky. Once free of the building, he let out a sob. Here he was, gliding away from his family. Here he was, running away from one of the only people who would have cared if he no longer existed.

His wings took him to the beach. He crumpled down onto his knees in the sand and just cried. He sobbed, he screamed. Hiro just let himself be a complete and total mess. He hadn't allowed himself to feel anything outside of longing for years. Now, now all those emotions were catching up to him. Regret, anger, grief. They were all flooding through him and hitting him like a hurricane. With every wave of the water it felt like a new emotion crashed down over him with vengeance.

How could he do that? He ran away from Tadashi again. He dug his fingers into the sand, as if that were some sort of crutch. It didn't help. Nothing could save him from being a selfish brat, someone who kept hurting the ones who mattered. There was no salvation for him. Even if what he did was for the "greater good".

His breath shattered. _Breathe._ He told himself. Hiro went to sit back on his legs to stare at the sky and hissed, having forgotten that he had been shot. His rush of emotions had completely pushed the pain in his leg away from his mind for a brief moment. Now that he was beginning to breathe normally again the searing pain in his leg was almost becoming too much to handle. With the bullet wound and his outburst of emotion having absolutely drained him, he was ready to just fall over and sleep. And he did. He fell against the sand and immediately blacked out, unaware of how close his deadline was.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ********Chapter 3 depicts physical abuse in the second half. It is not described in great detail but PLEASE be careful.********

Tadashi had hoped becoming a CEO would have helped find his brother, but in fact it had done the exact opposite. The publicity had taken a turn that he had not expected. Media sources were either trying to boost him up or tear him down. There was no way he could let people know that his younger brother was missing. Though some would take sympathy and want to help, others would start calling Hiro a delinquent. They would paint his younger brother as a bad person. Tadashi would not stand for that.

The stage lights were hot and under his newly pressed suit he was sweating. Despite his strong voice and his confident look, he had to keep adjusting his sleeves and collar in feign attempt to become comfortable. Too much light. He didn't like the set up at all. He couldn't see the faces of anyone past the third row of seats. Next time he were to talk here, he'd be in charge of the lighting. Less on the stage, more throughout the room. He didn't hate public speaking like his partner did. Tadashi had easily fallen into the position of the being the public face of the company. Of course, that didn't mean that he liked the setups that he was given.

“Baymax was simply the beginning,” he said into the microphone, peering around the darkness and pretending like he could see individual faces, “Using him as an example, our company will continue to build upon health care. We'll further our knowledge and learn how to combat diseases that threaten lives of the underprivileged without endangering anyone.” Tadashi pulled at his collar and popped the cap off the water bottle that had been supplied to him.

_Too hot._

He set the bottle back down and turned back to the audience. But he was not able to get back to his speech. Before he could even open his mouth, someone in the back of the auditorium screamed, “TADASHI, _NO_!” he didn't attempt to hide the confusion on his face. It all happened so fast. First he saw someone bolting toward him, over the heads of the rest of the audience. A gun shot rang through the room then the person collided with him. In his ear, he could hear the other man hiss in pain when the bullet entered his leg.

They went rolling across the stage. All around them was chaos. His audience was screaming and running away. The police officers who were just now recognizing the distress were all converging in on where the shoot had come from, one of the lights had even moved over into the corner so that the shooter had been revealed. He watched as the shooter dropped the gun and raised his hands.

Tadashi's attention turned to the man who had saved him. He was struggling to get to his knees. He looked familiar, a face from the past that he had not seen since he had finished constructing Baymax. His mouth fell open and his eyes widened, “Hiro... Hiro is that really you?”

Hiro slowly looked up at Tadashi, his face originally contorted with pain now had a look of panic. _No, don't leave again._ Tadashi thought. He didn't know if he could take Hiro leaving him once more. As the thought occurred, Hiro jumped to his feet and ran toward the wide open doors.

“Hiro! No don't go!” Tadashi got onto his feet and began running after his brother. He would have caught him if not for his jetpack. Hiro powered it up and went flying. Tadashi skid to a stop, shielding his face from the sudden blast of air that the jetpack let off.

And Hiro was gone, again.

His heart pounded in his chest. He could feel the tips of his fingers beginning to go numb, or was that his imagination? Tadashi slowly turned around to head to backstage. He needed to sit, to clear his head and think. Wasabi was standing by the curtains, open mouthed and staring at Tadashi. Neither spoke as they retreated into the green room to sit.

Tadashi hung his head and placed them in his hands. They were silent for what felt like forever. Eventually Wasabi placed his arms on the table and leaned forward to get a better look at Tadashi. “Was that your brother?” he asked.

Tadashi raised his head out of his hands, “Yes.”

“Well...”

“He's still alive, Wasabi. Hiro is still alive.” a burst of joy filled his chest. Yes, his little brother was still alive. And he had saved Tadashi's life. He had taken a bullet in the leg to save him. Tadashi deflated slightly. Now his little brother was out somewhere, alone and hurt. Trying to remain calm at the thought, he lay his hand on the table, “He's out in the city somewhere, hurt. He was hit in the leg by that bullet that was meant for _me_.”

“Yeah, a bullet meant for _you._ I know what you're thinking Tadashi and you know it's not safe for you to go out searching for him just yet. There might be another gunsman.” Wasabi reasoned.

Tadashi bit his lip and sat back in his chair, “I guess.”

“The cameras would have caught his face. We can have the news put up his picture and we'll be sure to find him.”

If it wasn't for Wasabi, Tadashi would probably have burst out the doors and try to find his little brother on foot without any help. But his friend was right, the voice of reason as per usual. The city was too big and he didn't know it as well as an assassin would. He was hesitant though, he had told himself that the media would never know about Hiro.

“You know how I feel about them knowing about Hiro.”

Wasabi gave him a sympathetic look, “Tadashi, it's all on camera. They were still filming when he went flying off. They're going to put it on the news.”

“I don't have to explain anything.”

“Tadashi... You're afraid they'll paint him as a villain. But he just saved your life. No one is going to put Hiro is a bad light after that... especially if you come out to the right source.”

What Wasabi said made Tadashi stop and think. Maybe is was finally time to come clean about his family's past. The fliers featuring Hiro's fourteen year old face were not enough anymore. He had saved him. Hiro was a hero. Maybe he could finally let others help him in the search for his brother.

“OK... OK I'll tell them. But on my ter--” he was interrupted by the green room's door being busted open.

A panicked looking man in a pin strip suit burst into the room. When he laid eyes on Tadashi he almost couldn't contain his sob. “Oh thank goodness, you're OK.” he said, rushing over to the table, “I rushed over the moment I heard about the assassin.”

“It's fine, Phillip,” Tadashi reassured his assistant, “I'm fine. We're both fine.”

That didn't stop Phillip from fussing over the both of them, especially Tadashi. “I'm never letting either of you out of my sight ever again. I don't know what would happen if one of you were to get gunned down.”

“Well, that's not happening. Anyway,” Tadashi stood up, “Phillip, I need you to get me an interview with the most credible news or television host you can find. Schedule it as soon as you can. I have some explaining to do.”

Phillip looked hesitant but nodded, “I can do that.”

\--

When Hiro awoke, the sun was beginning to set. He was still laying on the beach, completely undisturbed. The stinging in his leg had not stopped and he groaned loudly now that he wasn't surrounded by people.

What time was it? He twisted his watch around to check and when he saw the time he nearly fainted again. Oh no, it couldn't be fifteen minutes until five. He could not have missed the deadline to get the box to the bar and grill.

Hiro staggered to his feet, wincing. Why had he been so stupid? What had he had to gain from seeing Tadashi again? Now he was going to suffer the consequences for being late. Just thinking about what Samuel would do to him made his skin crawl. He wanted to run away, not ever see the man again... but his newspaper clippings and his bot were still in that old apartment. He needed to get them. He needed to hang onto them until he no longer could.

He activated his jetpack once more and started making his way to the restaurant. When he landed in the alley near the bar and grill, he leaned up against the wall and took some staggering breaths. Once he dropped off this package he'd need to visit a doctor. Hiro pushed off the wall with gritted teeth and stumbled out onto the street.

“Well, hello, Hiroo.” that familiar sing song voice said to his right. Hiro stopped and turned his head to see Samuel standing there, tapping the head of his cane against the palm of his hand, “You're an hour late... What could have happened?”

Hiro took a step away from him and swallowed, “You were right, there was a shooter there.”

Samuel shook his head, “Nice try. You're all over the news.” he said, gesturing toward the window of the restaurant. When Hiro hesitated, he said, “Go on, take a look.”

He swallowed and limped forward enough to see one of the mounted televisions through the window. Indeed, the cameras had caught everything. From him flying over, catching the bullet, and Tadashi screaming after him to stay. When the clip finished, the news anchor came back on the screen with a still of Hiro's panicked face. Was he really that beat up looking? In the picture he had bags under his eyes that looked like bruises and scrapes and scars all across his face.

A sudden burst of pain struck the back of his neck and his knees buckled. He fell forward onto his hands and turned his head toward Samuel. The old man stood over him, still tapping his cane against the inside of his hand, “You deserve what you've got coming to you.” he raised his cane above his head.

_Do I really deserve it?_ The thought echoed through his head with every impact. He didn't scream or yell. He just closed his eyes. No one would have helped him. The street was empty and everyone who lived on it or worked there were terrified of people like Samuel. With reason.

This wasn't right. Hiro opened his eyes. Through his blurry vision he could see his attacker lifting and swinging his cane over and over. He was useless, he was trash. He deserved this.

_No you don't deserve this._ He told himself. At that moment, his vision cleared. Samuel raised his cane one more time. Hiro's face distorted in anger and he raised his hand. Samuel swung. Hiro caught it and was able to hold onto it with ease thanks to his wall scaling gloves. No matter how hard Samuel tugged, the cane would not come unattached from the glove.

“You rotten kid.” Samuel growled.

Hiro didn't respond to him. He pushed himself up, glaring at the man in front of him. No more. No more would this man take advantage of him. Maybe he did deserve to be beat up. He was a horrible person after all, having run out on his brother and his aunt. Hiro was selfish and worthless but he would no longer take Samuel's abuse. Six and a half years had he manipulated Hiro into making him work for him for the bare necessities. Enough was enough.

“You don't control me anymore.” Hiro snarled. He snapped the cane from Samuel's hands and sent it flying across the street.

Samuel looked furious and lifted his hand to strike Hiro across the face but even through all his pain Hiro was able to activate his jetpack and burst into the air. He landed on a fire escape and looked down at his now-former abuser.

“At least give me the package.” Samuel growled.

“Over my dead body.” Hiro retorted, leaning against the wall. It was hard standing up for yourself when your body was in terrible shape.

“That can be arranged!” Samuel yelled, “You're messing with the wrong person, kid!”

Hiro shook his head, “I'm leaving behind a horrible person.” he turned and began to limp to the other end of the fire escape, preparing to fly away.

What Samuel said next made Hiro stop in his tracks, “Just remember, you'll never be safe while I'm alive. And I know where all of the illegal doctors are located. The moment you show up to one of them you're dead.” Hiro clenched his teeth again and he didn't say a thing. With one press of button on his chest piece, he was off into the sky.

The first place he needed to go was where all his prized possessions were. He needed to rescue what purity he had left in his life from that toxic environment.

–

He landed outside his bedroom window and smashed it with his elbow. Samuel really should have made it so that no one could break into these apartments so easily. You'd think such a vile man would have wanted to keep everything he had private.

Hiro crawled through the broken glass. He didn't need much. The pictures and newspaper clippings were still laying on his bed. He tucked them into his coat pocket and went on to find his little robot. It didn't take him long, it was right where he remembered putting it all those years ago. On the shelf in the closet that had maybe two outfits in it. Those clothes he wouldn't need, but there was no way he was leaving his bot. He grinned at it fondly as he picked it up.

“You my friend, you aren't staying in the wretched place any longer.” he pushed dust off from between the bot's giant “ears” and also tucked it into his pocket along with its controller. That was everything.

He crossed the room and began to climb out the window when he hesitated and looked back. This apartment was all he had known for the past six and a half years. When Samuel had let him stay here, this room was the only place he felt safe, even from the old man's cane. It was too late to turn back now. If Samuel ever saw him again, he was as good as dead. Not that he wasn't already as good as dead...

Sighing, he pressed the button once more and jumped into the sky.


	4. Chapter 4

The next couple of days were hard on Hiro. He had to hide from normal people, but he had to also try and blend in with them... which failed miserably. It was obvious that he wasn't a normal person. Currently he sat in between two other homeless men, head down and arms crossed over his chest to keep warm. Someone walking by dropped a quarter into someone's tin. Trolleys bustled, kids screamed. The city was alive and well, but Hiro was feeling more horrid as time passed.

The bullet was still in his leg and he was fairly sure that Samuel had broken a rib or two back outside Taro's Bar and Grill. He could barely move, usually. But he couldn't stay in on place for too long. Samuel had eyes everywhere, he knew that. Hiro had worked with others in his “vigilante” squad occasionally... which Hiro was starting to believe was not doing any good for the city like he had believed all these years.

Hiro sighed and got to his feet. Most of the pedestrians wanted nothing to do with a beaten up homeless man, which he was thankful for. Sometimes people would give him dirty or sympathetic looks, but usually they'd completely ignore him. To him that was a blessing. He didn't need anyone letting Samuel know where he was... or the police for that matter.

He limped for blocks, only resting against walls every other one. Everything looked pretty much the same. The buildings, the people. Everything but one cafe that caught his eye when he glanced through the window of it. Tadashi was featured on a mid-afternoon talk show. Hiro sucked in his breath. He had to hear what his brother was saying. He crept into the cafe and slid into a chair close to the television. The cafe was fairly busy, no one would notice that he was taking up space without paying for something.

“So tell us, what happened? During the shooting?” the host was asking Tadashi. Hiro almost flinched away, but he knew he needed to hear his brother's point of view. Maybe, just maybe, it wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

Tadashi looked straight at the host with a dead serious look, “Well, the lighting in the room was oddly set up. Normally I'm able to see most of my audience. But while in there I could only see up to the third, part of the forth row. It's part of my suspicion that the person behind the shooting was somehow involved in the set up of the lighting. That way it was easier to hide the shooter. Of course I was pushed out of the way in time...”

“By someone you seemed to know. You were shouting at him when he was running away.”

Tadashi nodded, “Yes, yes I know him.”

“Who was it, if I may I ask?” the host leaned forward, clearly intrigued.

“Well, that's the thing. I was so taken aback to see him. Part of me thought he might have been dead even though there was still hope that he was alive still,” Tadashi grimaced, “the man who saved me was my little brother, Hiro Hamada.”

“Your brother?”

Tadashi nodded again, “He disappeared when he was fourteen and didn't resurface again until he took the bullet for me. Honestly, I was shocked at first. When he flew away I didn't know what to do. I talked to my partner and he told me that I should come out about my family's past, maybe we could finally be reunited again. For real this time.”

Hiro felt like puking. Tadashi had admitted to having him as a brother on television. _Him,_ the selfish brat who ran away from him twice. And he wanted him to come back. He couldn't fathom it, why anyone would want him around at all confused him. Especially someone who he had hurt so badly. Why would Tadashi give him the time of day? Hiro lowered his head into his hands, continuing to listen to the show.

“He's lost, that's all.” was Tadashi's answer to a question Hiro had not heard.

“What could we do to help find your brother?”

“Keep an eye out for him. He'll probably be limping if he hasn't found a way to fix his leg. Also, if he's still wearing that coat he was the other day, it'll probably be torn in the back. From the jet pack.”

“Speaking of the jet pack, how do you suppose he got it?”

“I'm not really sure what he's been up to these past seven years... but he probably made it. He graduated from high school at the age of fourteen and invented things all the time when he was at home.”

“A boy genius then?”

“A genius.” Tadashi corrected, “Smartest person I know.”

“Then why did he run away from home?”

Hiro's heart dropped. Just because he ran away didn't mean he wasn't smart still... he wanted to see that television host put together a holographic projection computer in under ten minutes without instructions.

Tadashi sized up the interviewer and said with a straight face, “Because even the smartest people can make bone-headed mistakes. And even the smartest people can be hurt beyond measure. My brother is human. He is _not_ a robot. He still has feelings despite what people have seemed to assume of him ever since he was in elementary school. I want to mend those mistakes and bring him home. So... Hiro?”

He looked up at the television to see Tadashi was now staring straight at the camera. “Hiro, if you're watching or listening, I want you to know Aunt Cass and I miss you very much. We want you to come home. No questions asked, no looking back on the past. We'll be waiting for you.”

The camera switched to the television host, “And with that, we'll be right back after this commercial break.” The show faded into a commercial about dish soap. Hiro sat back in his chair, stunned at what he had just heard.

His family wanted him back. But he couldn't simply show up on Aunt Cass' doorstep. People wanted him dead. People who could easily find where his aunt and brother lived. He ran a hand through his messy hair and looked up at the ceiling. He knew he could not put them in danger. So he knew he could never see them again, no matter how many times Tadashi went on television and begged.

“You know, if you're not going to order anything I'm going to have to ask you to leave.” a woman said in a professional tone.

Hiro turned toward the voice and bit his lip. A tall woman stood in front of him, her height amplified by the fact she wore platform shoes. Her dyed blond hair was pulled back by a pink headband to keep her hair from interfering with her work. And behind her green apron she wore a long, yellow shirt with black pants. He knitted his eyebrows. For some reason she looked incredibly familiar.

“Wait,” she leaned forward, “do I know you from somewhere?”

“I could ask you the same thing, you look familiar.”

She took a few more steps toward him and squinted down at him, “I think... you're Tadashi's brother aren't you?”

Hiro quietly stared up at her. This woman knew his brother?

“You _are._ Oh my gosh,” she promptly sat down next to him, suddenly looking excited, “Tadashi told me all about you! Oh wait until I tell him you're here... I'll call him right awa--”

“Please, no! Don't do that!” Hiro's voice was slightly raised as he stopped her from removing her cellphone from her apron. She looked taken aback, and Hiro wanted to say she even looked hurt.

She slowly placed the phone onto the table, “Why not?”

Hiro did not know this woman. All he did know was that she somehow knew Tadashi and was good enough friends with him to have his cell phone number. What was he supposed to say to her? That he was a danger to everyone around him?

“It's complicated.” he murmured, looking down at his hands.

At least a minute passed before he finally looked up at her again. He could see the gears ticking in her brain. She was thinking about something. Maybe putting two and two together?

“Are you hungry?” she asked, “You're probably hungry, let me get you some food.” she hoped up to her feet and started walking towards the counter.

“What, no no no, I'm fine.” he began to stand up, trying to protest, but she had already disappeared into the back room. Hiro sat back down and sighed. At least she had not taken her phone with her to secretly call Tadashi. The woman returned with a plate of different pastries and a paper cup filled with milk. She set them down in front of him and propped her chin on her hands, waiting patiently for him to eat.

“I really can't let you do this....” he told her.

“Trust me, it's fine,” she said, pushing the cup closer to him, “Your brother calls me Honey Lemon, by the way. We went to the institute together and have been close friends ever since.”

Honey Lemon...? That did sound familiar. Hiro stared down at the pastries that Honey Lemon had brought him and slowly started to inch a hand toward one. He stopped short, giving her an uncertain look.

Honey Lemon smiled at him, “Would it make you feel better to know that I manage this cafe? It's completely fine. I'll pay for them. But please, eat. You look like a ghost.”

A ghost? Sure, he had not eaten in days... but did he really look that bad? He turned once again toward the food. It took all of Hiro's willpower not to inhale all the pastries at once. He lifted a cinnamon roll up to his mouth and slowly began nibbling on it. Out of the corner of his eye, Honey Lemon smiled.

“Hiro, I don't know what has happened to you these past seven years,” she bit her lip and concentrated on her hands for a second before looking up at him again, “You don't know me very well, but Tadashi is my best friend. He's missed you so much. If I can help in anyway, even if you need to just talk to someone, I'm here for you.”

“It's... incredibly complicated,” how badly he wanted to tell her. If she was really one of Tadashi's best friends, the likely hood of being able to trust her was incredibly high. But he had been hurt too much in the past seven years. Coming to trust someone again was hard, especially when you've only just met the person. At least it was now. He had grown out of his naivety long ago.

Honey Lemon seemed to stare right into his soul. Frankly, the look she gave him was quite chilling. He could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise.

“I'll tell you what, stick around. I'll take you to my apartment after work where it's safe and you can stay there as long as you need,” she reached out and tapped her perfect fingernail against the screen of her phone, “I promise I won't call you brother if you promise not to stay locked away forever.”

He clenched his jaw. What did she know? He couldn't tell her about what happened, nor did he want to. But her deal was tempting. A place to stay until things blew over. With someone not connected to him directly and someone who he knew probably would not hurt him. Hiro pulled the cinnamon roll from his lips and looked her in the eye.

“Deal.”

–

Honey Lemon's apartment was much nicer than his was. It had two bedrooms, a full bathroom, and a fully equipped kitchen that was connected to a spacious living area. Hiro stood awkwardly next to the door as she pulled out the couch into a bed for him to sleep on.

“Sorry, it's not much. I'd let you use the other bedroom but I have a roommate.” Honey was telling him as she spread a few blankets over the mattress, “Let me get some pillows. And you can sit down, you know.” she turned away and retreated into one of the bedrooms.

Hiro hesitated before limping forward and sitting down on the pull-out bed. He stretched out his injured leg on it. He wondered how bad it looked now. He hadn't dared check on the bullet wound and he didn't particularly want to look at it. Taking his pants off was going to be hard enough with them saturated with his own blood.

When Honey returned, she noticed that he was holding his leg and she frowned, “The bullet... it isn't still in your leg, is it?”

He looked at her and nodded.

“You're in pretty bad shape, aren't you?”

Again, he didn't say anything. Honey Lemon placed the pillows on the bed and circled around to him, “May I look at it?” when he nodded she continued by saying, “Let me go get a pair of scissors.”

She went into the kitchen and opened multiple drawers before finding scissors and returning to him. Gingerly, she sat down on the bed next to his leg and slowly began cutting his pants away from his skin. Her lips pressed together as she began pulling the soaked cloth away from his leg. “I'm no expert, but Tadashi talked about this stuff a lot while he was programming Baymax. He was fascinated by bullet wounds at one point...” Honey stood up, “Relax for a bit, I'm going to get my first aid kit and double check my knowledge.” she disappeared once more, leaving Hiro to his own devices.

So far so good. Honey had not called Tadashi yet, to his knowledge, and no one was dead... yet. Hiro pulled the backpack off and let it fall to the floor. He still had not opened that box yet to see what Samuel wanted so bad and to be completely honest, he didn't think he wanted to know. He then stripped off his coat. All he was left wearing was what looked like a purple bullet proof vest combined with a life vest. On the back of the vest was his jet pack. Currently the wings were tucked away, but they could stretch out to be as long as his wingspan.

“Yes, that is what I thought,” he heard Honey Lemon mumbling as she came back out into the living room. She had put her hair back into a pony tail and had quickly changed out of her work cloths into a pair of sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt. She held the first aid kit to her chest and in her hand was her phone which she was reading from intensely, “When bullets are in the leg or arm, you shouldn't have to remove them as they'll be sterile. It's wood and cloth you have to be careful about.”

“Sure, I guess that makes sense.” he replied, watching her smile when he spoke.

“Hey you talked!” Honey Lemon beamed at him. Hiro immediately pursed his lips. She just chuckled and crossed over to him once more, “I'm just going to put some disinfectant on the entry and wrap it up for now.”

She placed the first aid kit on the bed and began to dab something that stung his sore leg, “Tadashi never liked this stuff either.” she commented, noticing him squirm a little. After putting disinfectant on his wound, she began wrapping it with a clean cloth, “There, all done.”

“Thanks...” he muttered, moving his leg from side to side as if it was the most amazing patch job he had ever seen. It definitely was the most gentle one he had ever had. He would have had to visit an illegal doctor from time to time to patch up cuts and none of them had the tenderness that Honey Lemon did. Hiro didn't want to admit it, but she was already feeling like the big sister that he never had. She was definitely acting like it.

Honey smiled, “You're most certainly welcome. You could use some different clothing. I think my roommate's boyfriend probably left some of his clothes so let me check.” for a third time, she disappeared.

This time around, Hiro felt comfortable enough to grab one of the pillows she had retrieved. He had had full intent of waiting for her to get back, to let him change out of his disgusting clothes, but he was exhausted. He fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.


	5. Chapter 5

“Now, why didn't you call Tadashi?”

Hiro did not dare move from his position. Someone was talking and it didn't sound like Honey Lemon. In fact, the voice sounded angry. Even after knowing Honey Lemon for the short period of time that he did, he couldn't imagine her voice becoming angry like the other person's.

“I promised him I wouldn't.” Honey Lemon defended. There was a clank of something metallic hitting something plastic, “Are you going to help me with breakfast or are you going to just still there and pout?”

“I'm _not_ pouting. This just feels wrong. Tadashi is our best friend and you're not letting him know that his little brother is staying at our apartment!”

“Look, I promised him I wouldn't call Tadashi. Besides,” there was some shuffling, like she was pushing something aside, “I think there's something going on. Something really horrible. And he's not telling me.”

“Like what?”

“I'm not sure...”

Hiro bit his lower lip, straining his ears against the silence that had enveloped the room. After five minutes of them not talking, just making shuffling noises from the kitchen, he decided to stop pretending to sleep. Hiro stretched and sat up slowly but he winced anyway. Too many bruises lined his side. Behind him, the noises stopped.

“Why if it isn't sleeping beauty?” the unfamiliar voice asked.

“GoGo...” Honey scolded.

Hiro looked back over his shoulder and into the kitchen. Honey Lemon's roommate was a short Korean woman. She was stout and fit... and was even wearing exercise clothing to match. Her hair, unlike Honey's, was black, cut short and had a purple streak through her bangs.

“What? Wouldn't you call _that_ face beautiful?”

“ _GoGo._ ”

“Fine I'll stop,” but GoGo circled around the counters and honed in on Hiro like a vulture, “So you're Tadashi's little bro, huh? Coulda fooled me.”

“What do you mean?” Hiro asked, staring up at the tiny woman.

She half smiled, “Well for one thing, Tadashi doesn't have scars all over his face.”

“GoGo!”

GoGo raised up her hands, “I'm just speaking the truth, Honey Lemon. Tadashi doesn't have the marks of abuse all over him like Hiro here. Their experiences have shaped them differently.”

Honey Lemon took a sharp breath through her nose. She was obviously not too impressed by GoGo's attitude.

“Anyway, heard you were staying here for a while. You'll be needing these.” GoGo turned toward a black book shelf and pulled folded clothing from it. She tossed them into his lap, “I don't know if they'll fit, but they're better than those dirty rags you're wearing.” she began swaggering back to the kitchen, “Do with them what you will, I don't think my ex will care enough to come back and get them.”

There was a loud crack from the kitchen making both Hiro and GoGo snapped their heads in that direction. Honey Lemon stood there, holding the side of her head after having apparently whacked it against an open cupboard. She didn't seem to care, however. She was staring at GoGo, mouth hanging open.

“I thought Tony was going to propose to you!”

GoGo shrugged, “Well, I'm not going to say yes to marriage when he doesn't take my no's to sex seriously.”

Hiro nearly gagged. This conversation had taken an unpleasant and very blunt turn. Honey Lemon had obviously spotted his uncomfortable look and quickly said, “Hiro, if you'd like to take a shower this would be the time to do it. It's the door in the middle. I'll knock when breakfast is ready.”

Good idea. Hiro got to his feet and limped as quickly as possible to the bathroom with the spare clothing that used to belong to this Tony fellow. From inside his new safe haven he could still hear GoGo going on about her ex. At least it was quieter from in here.

He sighed through his nose. Hiro had missed a lot while being away from people. Relationships were one of them. In fact he had never really thought of dating. How could he have when he was trying to survive? Did he even have a crush on anyone? Before he had run away he had graduated high school surrounded by folks who were about ten years older than him. He had just started entering the age of crushes and sappy feelings when he had left his family behind without a trace. There was no way...

As he entered the shower, a memory hit him. Yes, there was a girl at some point he had thought to be pretty. She had lived across the street from Samuel's apartment. He would see her walking down the sidewalk everyday, up until her family moved of course. No one stayed on that street for long unless they had to. This girl didn't matter anymore, though. Hiro had not even asked her what her name was. All he could remember of her was that she was around his age and that she'd wear a neon clip in her hair everyday.

She didn't matter, but he had to admit that he had once had a crush. Even he wasn't immune to it while spending half his childhood in the wrong spot.

Hiro scrubbed off all the dirt and grime from the last few days. It felt good to finally rid of the layer of disgust that covered his entire body. All the blood from his leg, the dirt on his hands and around his face. There were two different types of shampoos and body washes in their shower. One set smelt of cherries and berries while the other of coconuts. It didn't feel right to him to take their soaps, but he didn't have a choice. Nor was he going to be picky. He grabbed the closer of the two.

Just as he was getting out there were two very polite knocks on the door, “Hiro, breakfast is ready.” Honey chirped, “I hope you like omelets.”

_Omelets?_ He hadn't had omelets in years. Hiro slipped on the clothing without drying off and exited the bathroom, trying to hide his excitement. A real meal. The idea of one nearly brought him to his knees.

Honey Lemon and GoGo were both sitting at the counter, their plates were still covered in their own breakfast. Honey had opted for a single egg's worth of scrambled eggs with sausage and some berries on the side. GoGo on the other hand a completely balanced breakfast. A giant omelet with chopped peppers and sausage mixed into it, along with her own bowl of fruit that included more than just strawberries and blueberries. She was even holding a celery stick.

“So are you some health nut?” he asked her.

GoGo shrugged, “Are you a swimmer? Because you sure are swimming in those cloths.”

Honey Lemon gave her a disciplinary look, but GoGo was right. Hiro was a stick despite him having thought otherwise for the longest of time. Sure he was agile, but strong? GoGo probably could have struck him down then and there if he pissed her off.

“I made you what GoGo has, but with only one egg. I figured you aren't used to eating a lot,” she pointed to a plate in between the two of them, “and there's some fruit for you too.”

“What about the celery?”

GoGo broke her stick in half, “Trust me, you don't need it. Celery is for roughage, doesn't give you much nutrients. And you need more nutrients then you need roughage.”

Hiro was smart, but he had no clue what she meant by roughage. He just quietly took his place between them and looked down at the plate in front of him. “It won't bite you.” GoGo told him when he didn't start eating right away. He ignored her.

They were both being so nice-- even GoGo was, though her sense of humor was a little off. He wasn't quite sure how he could repay either one of them.

“Thank you.” was all he could say with his head bowed slightly. Honey beamed at him. Even GoGo gave him a small smile. With their reactions, he reached for the fork next to the plate.

\--

“No, no. That's not how you-- oh give it to me.” GoGo snatched the wheel out of Hiro's hand. He held up his hands as if he had just been slapped, “Don't be like that. You're the one who almost broke it.”

Two weeks had come and gone since he had taken shelter with two of Tadashi's friends, and they were the most easy going weeks of his life. In them he had been learning how to interact with other humans again without fear of them hurting him. He smiled, he joked, he laughed. At one point GoGo had said something incredibly funny while Honey Lemon was out and he had laughed so hard he ended up on the floor. Right now, they were sitting on the pull out bed he was using and GoGo was showing him her latest design in magnetic-levitation devices.

“I think the disks in more rebalancing. These smaller ones are trickier then the bike wheels.” she told him, putting the tiny wheel back into place on the roller skate.

“Have you considered changing the design of the boot?” Hiro asked, peeking down at the roller blade in her hands.

She seemed to consider it for a moment, even turned the boot around in her hand as if imagining what she could change. But like every other time he suggested something, she was quick to shrug it off. “I think it's definitely the wheels.”

The opening and closing of the front door made them both turn. Honey Lemon came in, pulling off her pink rain coat with a sigh. All up and down her clothing were stains from dropped coffees and powdered donuts gone array.

“Busy day again?” GoGo asked her.

“ _Always_...” Honey pulled her shoes off and belly-flopped onto Hiro's temporary bed with them, “It didn't help that Tadashi and Wasabi came by, either.”

At the mention of his brother, Hiro glanced over at the backpack he had not touched since removing it from his back two weeks ago. That package was still in there and with it all the secrets he was keeping from the two wonderful ladies who had let him stay with them.

“Wait, why?” GoGo asked, “Aren't they busy running a company?”

“Well, it's Saturday.”

“Right.” GoGo murmured.

“Tadashi came by to invite us to dinner at his aunt's. I guess Wasabi just tagged along. Speaking of dinner...” Honey looked at Hiro, “That might be a good time to show up back in your family's lives.”

Hiro immediately started shaking his head, “Nope, no can do.” he told her.

“Why not? You're doing much better now. You're barely limping and your ribs seem to be healing up better than we expected them to.”

That was true. With her and GoGo's guidance, he was healing well. He was stronger and healthier than he had ever been. Even so, he couldn't just tell them what happened to him and why he couldn't go back to his family.

“It's complicated.”

“That's what you said two weeks ago. You still don't trust us?”

Hiro looked away. It wasn't that he didn't trust them...

“I don't want to see you in danger, that's all. None of you, especially Tadashi and Aunt Cass,” he told her. Honey Lemon frowned.

“Hiro,” GoGo put her hand on his shoulder, “You won't put us in danger. We just want to help you and Tadashi. We'll do whatever it takes.”

Hiro tensed up at her words. Maybe he was being ridiculous. He had not heard of or from Samuel and his goons in weeks. He also always made sure to not leave the apartment without something to cover his face and to always have the curtains closed when he was in a room. There was no way anyone knew where he was and who he was with, right? “OK, fine. I'll tell you.” he murmured.

“I got in a pretty bad argument with Tadashi when I was fourteen...” he started. Hiro went on to tell them exactly what had happened to him in the past seven years. He told them about winning a grand total of fifty-thousand dollars with megabot before realizing he was probably not going to dodge the police successfully everytime and he'd be sent home. So he had hidden the money away for when he really needed it and stopped botfighting. A month after making that decision, he had been homeless and desperate. That was when Samuel had approached him. Samuel offered Hiro a deal, work for him and Hiro would have housing. With the naivety of a teenager, Hiro was quick to agree.

What he had not expected was the abuse. Samuel forced him to steal and made him believe it was all OK. It was all for the good of the city and its people. Those people he'd stolen from? Evil people who didn't deserve the things they had. Eventually Hiro had become good enough to execute robberies and even had the skills to avoid being caught by the police. Samuel even acknowledged his knowledge in robotics and had given him parts for him to invent with. But that was just another thing Samuel was using against him. Mess up? Hiro would be kicked out of the apartment. Miss something while working? He'd be hit over and over again with that blasted cane.

Hiro took in a shattering breath, “And... the day of Tadashi's speech. The one that got me shot.”

“You were there for Samuel?” Honey asked, leaning forward on her hands.

He nodded, “Samuel made me meet a helicopter on the roof of the Tower, where I was supposed to pick up a package and deliver it to him at his so-called favorite restaurant. I still had time before the drop off to listen to Tadashi speak. So I went in there and... well, you know what happened.”

GoGo tapped her chin. She was analyzing him the way she had been the disks on her prototype roller skates, “You ran away though. Where did you go?”

“To the beach,” he swallowed, “and I passed out for about three hours. I was late to the drop off.”

“So you were punished.”

“Yes. When I got there Samuel wasn't happy. He started beating me... and I... snapped.”

“Snapped? What do you mean?” Honey's eyes went wide, “You didn't kill him, did you?”

“No, no. No definitely not. I'm not like him,” Hiro reassured her, “I grabbed his cane and threw it away. I stood up for myself and got away from him. And...”

“Annddd?”

“I still have the box,” he gestured to the backpack leaning against the wall, “Because I do have it, he's threatened my life. And I'm worried he's keeping an eye on my family and will hurt them if I show up.”

Quiet enveloped the room. Honey looked pale while GoGo stared at him, thoughtfully. GoGo sprung to her feet and grabbed the backpack. She dropped it onto the bed and zipped it open.

“GoGo, what are you doing?” Honey squeaked.

“He says that he's in danger. Maybe this--” she pulled the box out of his backpack and dropped it on the mattress, “--is the key to getting him out of danger.”

Hiro had not thought of that. All he had known was that box carried nightmares for him, only bad dreams and reminders of darker times. He had never considered that maybe what was in it could be a clue to how he could safe himself.

Although hesitant, he looked at GoGo straight in the eyes, “Open it.”

 


	6. Chapter 6

Hiro's heart was beating fast. GoGo ripped the paper packaging away from the box then continued to pull it open. What could possibly be inside? Maybe a bomb?

It was most definitely not a bomb, or anything remotely dangerous. What GoGo pulled out of it made him scratch his head.

“Papers,” she said, dropping them in front of him, “and a spiral notebook.”

Hiro scooped them up and slowly while GoGo casually flipped through the notebook. On the stack of papers were diagrams of something. He crinkled his brow. Samuel wasn't a genius-- at least Hiro didn't think he was-- why did he need diagrams?

“These are diagrams. Give me twenty minutes,” he told them, “I'll have what this builds by then.”

“Then... we'll make dinner!” Honey suggested, jumping off the bed and grabbing GoGo's shoulders, “I'm thinking chicken breasts, GoGo.”

“And why do I have to cook them?”

“Because I'll be looking for a job that  _actually_ reflects my diploma. Besides it's your turn. Now come on!” GoGo groaned at her words and left Hiro to begin cooking. Honey grinned at him before retreating into her room to continue her job search.

So slowly, Hiro began to spread out the sheets of paper across the bed. One by one he took in their information. But he could not understand any of it. How did the parts fit together? He had never seen anything like this device before.

When the diagrams gave him no clues, he turned to the notebook instead and began flipping through the old, weathered pages. Upon further investigation of the notebook, he discovered that it was a journal. In what he assumed was a woman's hand-writing, he found entry upon entry describing a secret laboratory that created and experimented inventions. But they weren't safe inventions, no. The things the journal described where as complicated as atom splitting.

“Why would Samuel care about some journal?” he wondered aloud. He continued to flip through the pages until he hit the last page of hand-writing. The last entry was written at least twenty years ago and was written in hasty hand-writing. Skimming through it, he found that the author had been selected to go through a test run of a teleportation device. Hiro knitted his brows. There were no more entries after this one. Did that mean the person didn't make it out of the experiment alive?

He flipped to the inside cover of the notebook. That was where people usually wrote their names on their journals, right? Of course he was right. “Abigail Callaghan.” he murmured.

Something happened to her after she had been sent through the teleportation device... but what? And after reading the entry, he had an inkling feeling he knew what the diagrams were and why he had been having a hard time figuring out what they were. The teleporter. With that new knowledge at hand, Hiro began piecing everything together.

“But that's impossible.”

“It's only been eighteen minutes.” GoGo said from the kitchen. Hiro glanced up at her.

“No, not that. This. What they're trying to do, it's impossible.”

“And what would that be?”

“Teleportation... what could they possibly want it for though?” Hiro scratched his head, “Tell me, do you have access to a 3D modeler and printer?”

GoGo stared at him, “No, but I know someone who might.”

–

“So who did you say lived here?” Hiro asked once more as he, Honey Lemon, and GoGo walked up the path to a three-floor mansion. He had thought their apartment had fancy, but the building they were approaching was on a whole different story. It was ornate and regal; nothing like he had ever even been close to.

GoGo popped her gum, “Our friend, Fred.” she reached over to the doorbell and pressed it.

Hiro buried his face further into the scarf. The owner of this home obviously had to reflect the architecture, “Are you sure he won't rat me out?”

“Positive. Especially if you tell him what you've been telling us. Which I still thinks sounds crazy.”

“I'm serious, you want to help me right?”

“Of course,” Honey told him, her eyes sympathetic, “but Hiro, what you want from us is--”

The door opened and a man in a tuxedo stepped out, “Miladys GoGo and Honey Lemon. Master Fred is in his room. Would you like me to fetch him or escort you?” the butler asked.

“We'll show ourselves, thanks.” GoGo said, stepping through the threshold. Honey gave the man a quiet “thank you” and she and Hiro rushed after GoGo.

They followed her down a hallway through the east wing to a pair of double doors at the end of it. GoGo knocked on the door loudly. There was a shattering sound that erupted from the other room, making Honey and GoGo exchange concerned looks. “Come in!” came a strained voice from behind the door.

The room was decorated with comic book paraphernalia. Posters, actual suits from fictional characters, and other miscellaneous pieces from graphic novels lined the walls and were just scattered throughout the entire room. Fred, or at least Hiro assumed he was him, was standing over a glass case that had fallen and broken into a million pieces. The man was in sloppy clothing, nothing like Hiro had imagined someone rich wearing. Actually... nothing about the entire room or anything about the man reminded him of someone rich.

At the sight of the glass, GoGo rolled her eyes, “You klutz.” she said, entering the room.

“Hey, Honey. GoGo.” Fred stepped over the glass, “And person I've not met yet,” he slithered up to Hiro and held out his hand to shake, “You're the man who needs the 3D printer, huh?”

Hiro took Fred's hand and shook it loosely, “Yeah that'd be me.”

“OK, that's cool. I'll let you use it.” Fred turned around and casually flung himself into a bright blue armchair.

“Really?” Hiro perked up. He had not expected Fred to let him use his 3D printer so readily. Why would anyone let a complete stranger use their machinery?

Fred held up his index finger and Hiro felt himself deflate a little at the gesture, “One condition. I really suck at using that thing... so I want you to make me a fire-breathing lizard suit.”

Was that... really?

“I can do that.” Hiro agreed.

“And one question,” Fred leaned forward in his chair, raising a giant eyebrow, “What do you want it for?”

Hiro hesitated and looked at Honey for support. She gestured to him to continue talking. He sighed and looked at Fred once more, “I need better armor. And they need some too.” he gestured to GoGo and Honey.

“Hiro, I told you that this is a bad idea. GoGo and I can't possibly do what you're asking us to.” Honey repeated.

He turned to her, “You'll be perfectly safe. Besides... this'll look good on your resume.”

Honey puckered her lips.

Hiro turned back to Fred and started explaining exactly why he needed the armor. He told him that there was a man who was abusing technology that no one could possibly had any hopes of actually being able to control. That if he wanted to go back to his family, he needed to be able to fight back.

Fred rubbed his chin, “You wouldn't happen to be Hiro Hamada would you?”

“I might be.” Hiro murmured, crossing his arms.

Drumming his fingers against the armrest, Fred continued to analyze him. Hiro could tell that this guy was not as stupid as he looked, there was a certain wisdom in his eyes that came with growing up alone. They stared at each other, both giving the other the respect the deserved. After a couple heartbeats, Fred smiled.

“I'm in.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“You're dealing with a villain. I'm in. I'll help you beat him.”

–

“You haven't found him yet?” a man's voice snapped over the phone.

“No. He hasn't turned on his jet pack since the last I saw him.” Samuel said into the receiver. His living area was dark and filled with cigarette smoke that's only filter out was a small crack in the window, “I can't track him if he doesn't turn it on.”

“This kid was supposed to be our scapegoat. If you don't find him, then guess who is going to take the blame for all this?”

Samuel swallowed. He knew exactly who the other man was speaking of, “Anyone but her.” he said in a sturdy voice, though he like the opposite.

“Well make sure to find him, then. And make sure to get that package from him. It contains the last piece of the plan.” the man on the other end of the line hung up.

Samuel popped his jaw. “Ass.” He pushed himself up and limped over to the window. Samuel knew he was a bad person. He had abused that boy and he had enjoyed it. There was no denying he enjoyed watching the kid break.

He pushed open the window and a good portion of the smoke went swooshing out into the rainy air. The cigarette on his lip twitched. If he couldn't find that good for nothing brat, that sweet girl would suffer the consequences. He wouldn't stand for that.

–

It took Hiro about about a half a day to complete all the armor. He held up his new suit in front of him. It looked similar to his old jet pack, a vest with the capability to sprout wings. It was also still bullet proof and also served as a life vest. The others' also served as that kind of protection as well, but did not have wings. While he could fly, the others had super speed, or the ability to jump high into the sky.

“This is so AWESOME!” Fred exclaimed. Hiro looked around at him and grinned. Fred was already in his suit, jumping around the large workshop.

“Uhm, Hiro. Are you sure about this?” he turned to Honey who was also in her pink and yellow colored armor. She held her helmet uncertainly.

Hiro walked up to her with a nod. He put his hand on top of the helmet, “You have nothing to worry about. Besides,” he bent over slightly and pressed a few buttons on her new bag. It popped a bright blue ball out of its side seam and he held it up to her, “aren't chemicals your favorite thing?”

Honey smiled a little and took the ball from his hand, “Yeah, they're fascinating!” she exclaimed.

He grinned. GoGo came skating up next to them. She had let Hiro have complete design creativity over her magnetic-levitation gear and she wouldn't admit that his design for the roller skates were better and more sturdy. That was fine with him though.

“I'd hate to break up this party,” she said, “but Tadashi invited us for dinner, right?”

“Oh right! Fred! Get out of that suit we need to go to Tadashi's!” Honey called for Fred, who had managed to jump into the rafters in the ceiling. Fred made a disappointed noise, GoGo rolled her eyes at him.

Honey placed the helmet on the table, “Sorry Hiro, but we promised.”

Hiro shook his head, “It's OK. I understand.”

“And we promise we'll try them out tomorrow.” GoGo reassured him, beginning to take her own armor off.

There was a flop somewhere behind them and no one blinked an eye when Fred hopped up from where he hit the ground, “This is totally wicked,” he pulled his own, monster-themed, helm from his head, “Great work, man.”

“It breathes fire, too. From the mouth.” Hiro told him. He could have sworn that Fred was about to explode in happiness at his words.

While the others began pulling off their suits, Hiro turned towards his once more. He put his hand on his own, purple helmet. This was it. He was going to put a stop to what Samuel was plotting and then he'd be free to go back to his home. Hiro picked up the helmet and placed it over his messy hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More action in the next chapter. ;) I promise.


	7. Chapter 7

Flying was true freedom. He swerved and spun through the clouds. Hiro dove and ducked around buildings, skipped across the bay and through traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. _Yes, this must be what it's like to feel invincible._ He thought as he blasted over the water, his fingertips skimming over the small waves. Hiro chuckled and looked up.

Above him, there was a small jet plane coasting through there air. Grinning, he blasted upward toward it. When he reached it he landed on the wing gingerly, leaning forward so that his own jet pack kept him from flying off. The pilot gaped at him and he waved. Before the pilot could wave back, Hiro turned off his pack and the wind pushed him off.

Falling through the air was not as terrifying when he knew all that he needed to do was press a button to turn his jet pack back on. Hiro watched the water coming closer and closer and once he was about to make impact, he turned on the thrusters. He sped upward, toward the city and continued flying around around until he decided to land on the roof of a business.

He sighed, staring off into the city skyline. The sun was just now beginning to set and Hiro enjoyed feeling the crisp air against his skin. He stretched his arms above his head. Now this was the life. Freedom, no need to answer to anyone. Just him and the sky. As he lowered his arms, he caught the sight of a large cat sitting against the setting sun.

“Oh yeah. Tadashi... Aunt Cass...” he stepped up onto the very edge of the building. He bit his lip, debating whether or not to check in on them. Would it hurt? He pressed his lips together and jumped into the air towards the cat.

When he landed on the roof opposite of the Lucky Cat Cafe, Honey, GoGo, and Fred were all leaving. Well, Fred was leaning over GoGo's shoulder like a sack of flour. Hiro ignored them and instead focused on watching the windows in the second floor. He could see movement, but who was moving he didn't know. He crawled closer to the edge of the building he was on and squinted.

Aunt Cass was washing dishes and looked like she was talking to someone. His heart jumped into his throat when he realized it was her and that she was probably talking to Tadashi. He leaned in closer, suspending himself over the side of the building.

There he was. Tadashi brought a few more plates over to the sink. He said something and Aunt Cass chuckled. A warm feeling spread through Hiro. There was his family, safe and sound. They were laughing and enjoying themselves. As he watched, a icy thought ran through his mind.

_They're so happy, they don't need me to come back._

He could have punched himself for the thought. For the past two weeks his photo and Tadashi's interview was all over the television and the internet, all in attempt to bring Hiro home. Of course they wanted him back.

_But do they need me?_

Hiro sat back, biting the inside of his cheek. Did they... need him? Want and need were two different things. They seemed fine by themselves. After all this time they had adapted and learned how to live without him. They had become  _successful._ Both of them. He bit down even harder on his cheek.

He'd find his way back to them, even if they didn't need him.

–

“Fred, careful where you're swinging your arms!” Honey glared as she pushed open the door of hers and GoGo's apartment. They were all a bit intoxicated, but Fred had drank a little too much. Honey couldn't just leave Fred at Tadashi's while he was drunk. He could have told the Hamadas about Hiro like had almost done so twice that night if GoGo hadn't stopped him each time.

GoGo led Fred into the apartment and dropped him on the pulled-out bed. He let out a laugh, “GoGo you look mad.”

“Shut up and don't throw up. Or you're cleaning it up.” GoGo scolded him. Fred waved her off.

Honey shed her coat and shoes with a disgruntled face, “Do you think that he suspects something? About Hiro?”

GoGo hung up her own coat on the rack, “Tadashi? Nah. I was able to stop Fred from spilling the beans. Also we all had a bit to drink. Did you see Wasabi?” she snorted with a smile, “Bloke's probably more drunk than that idiot.”

They both looked around at Fred who was fumbling around with the remote control for their television. When he wasn't able to turn it on he tossed the remote away.

“I can understand Fred being a lightweight but not Wasabi.”

“I don't think Wasabi is a lightweight... I think he just drank an entire bottle of wine.” Honey told her.

GoGo shrugged, “Either way, that was a fun night.”

“Agreed.”

Honey followed GoGo into the kitchen. She opened a cupboard and retrieved three glasses from it, “Time to sober up I guess...” she told GoGo who had already retrieved medicine from another cabinet.

Suddenly, something went flying past them, bounced off the refrigerator door, hit the wall and slid down into the floor. Fred was laughing hysterically. GoGo narrowed her eyes, “I'm going to send him to Mars were he belongs! That fridge wasn't cheap!” But before she could march over to Fred, Honey grabbed her friend by the shoulder.

“Don't. You know he'll replace it.” Honey told her, “Now take some medicine and drink some water. I'm going to turn off that jet pack.”

GoGo scowled but picked up one of the glasses.

Honey walked over to the jet pack and grabbed hold of it tight. Flipping it around, she saw a couple different buttons and a red flashing light. The largest button in the center of the chest piece had to be the one to control the jet pack. She pressed it and it shut off, though the blinking light did not stop. This made her pucker her lips briefly in wonder. Maybe it was just running out of battery. Honey propped the jet pack against the wall and returned to the kitchen.

“See? No harm, no foul.”

“The fridge has been harmed. I'm not letting him back in here again.”

Honey just kind of shrugged then went to fill out the other two glasses for her and Fred, “I wonder where Hiro is.”

“Probably out playing with his new toys. He's been in here for two weeks and barely left ever,” GoGo leaned against the counter and popped two tablets into her mouth, “I'm sure he's fine. You don't have to be a worry wart.”

“I'm not a worry wart!” Honey protested, “I just don't want him to get in trouble.”

GoGo only shrugged. Honey Lemon turned and walked over to Fred, who was dozing off on the bed now. She pushed his shoulder, startling him awake. “Take some medicine, Fred.”

“Fine, fine.” Fred took the water and the two tablets she was holding out to him.

Honey once again turned to return to the kitchen for her own drink when there was a knock on the door. She exchanged a look of curiosity with GoGo before taking two strides over to the door and opening it. A young woman stood in front of Honey. She had long, platinum blond hair and golden-brown skin.

“Oh, hello.” she smiled at Honey, “I just heard a loud noise and wondered if everything was OK.”

Something was not right with the woman in front of her. Honey slowly began to inch the door close as she spoke, “Yes, we're fine. Our friend is just drunk right now and we're looking after him.”

“Oh, well that's mighty fine. May I ask one more question?”

“I guess?” Honey closed the door even more, partially hiding behind it now.

“Is Hiro home?”

Before Honey could answer, the woman pushed the door open with such force that it knocked Honey Lemon over with a smack to the head. She heard GoGo scream her name and saw her jump into her peripheral view. Honey blinked, sitting there and holding her head.

“Hiro has moved on!” she heard GoGo yell, “He left all his things and split town! Because of people like you!”

The room was beginning to spin.

“Oh... that's a shame. I'll be taking the package and be on my way!” Honey could see the woman step into the apartment and over her legs.

“Fine, take whatever you want. But don't hurt my friends.”

“Put down the knife, then.”

Honey rubbed her eyes and turned her head to see GoGo pointing a kitchen knife at the woman. She slowly got to her feet, using the sofa for support. GoGo seemed hesitant to put the knife down.

“Put it down, all I want is the package. I'll spare you pathetic lives.” the woman said in a bored tone.

“GoGo...” Honey squinted her eyes, she was starting to see double, “Do as she says.”

It took a moment, but GoGo set the knife back down on the counter and took a step backwards. The woman snorted and took a few strides forward, shoving GoGo to the side as she went.

“So where is the package he left behind? Oh wait, that's it.” she spotted the box, sitting on the ground next to the bed, “Now, he didn't open it, right?”

“No. We have no idea what is in it.” GoGo hissed, hovering over the counter, ready to grab the knife again if she needed, “Like I said, he was here for a week and a half and then left without a trace. Left all his stuff as well.”

“Good.” the woman picked up the package and held it to her chest, “And that sounds exactly like him. Skipping out on the only people who care about him.”

Honey was starting to feel sick from her head spinning. Who was this woman? How did she know Hiro? She slid down onto her knees, holding back the urge to puke. She wanted to open her mouth and yell at the intruder, but she feared that she would not be able to speak.

Luckily, GoGo asked her questions for her, “Who the hell are you? And what makes you think you can bad mouth Hiro like that?” she hissed.

“My identity does not matter. And I've known Hiro since he was fifteen and working for his now previous employer. I have a place to judge him.”

“Bitch.”

“Wow, you're feisty. If I had anytime left I might have flirted with you.”

GoGo retorted by making a gagging noise, “Like you'd have a chance.” she began reaching into her pocket.

The intruded obviously didn't think anything of GoGo putting her hand in her pocket. Instead she turned toward the door, “You're missing out. Well, toodles! I have to deliver this to its proper owner.” as she was walking out she was whacked in the back of the head with one of GoGo's tiny magnetic wheels for her roller blades. She stopped and turned to look at GoGo who was standing there with three more disks between her knuckles, “You shouldn't have done that.”

–

Hiro landed outside the apartment complex, peeling off his new gloves with a long sigh. After watching his brother and aunt interacting until the retreated into the living room to watch a movie, he had finally decided to go back to the others. He was sure they were already asleep, only assuming from Fred's heavy form on GoGo's shoulder that they had been drinking. Of course he didn't expect to walking up to the room to find the door was open. He rushed through the threshold and his heart nearly stopped.

Honey was laying on the floor, he wasn't sure if she was out cold or asleep, but she was deathly pale. GoGo on the other hand, looked up at him from where she was sitting under the counter. Her eye was swollen and her lip bleeding. His heart fell into his stomach as they made eye contact.

“What... what happened?” he whispered.

GoGo held up a finger to silence him, “Yes, that's the address. Please hurry. I think my friend has a concussion.”

She hung up her cellphone without another word to the operator. Stiffly, she pulled herself up and stood at her full height to stare straight at Hiro. She looked furious.

“What happened?” he repeated, taking a few more steps into the room.

“Some bitch showed up and took the package. Knocked Honey in the head really hard. And of course that bozo slept through the whole thing.” GoGo swept her arm around the room with exaggeration.

Bozo? Hiro glanced over at the bed and saw that Fred was laying there, passed out and drooling.

“Doubt she even realized he was here. She was too fixated on pushing my buttons.”

“And obviously your buttons were pushed.”

GoGo wiped the blood from her lip, “Who cares? Help me get Honey Lemon off the floor... then you should probably leave. The police will be here any moment.”

Hiro stared at her. She was telling him to leave her while she was bleeding and Honey was possibly concussed... One part of him told him to go, leave and never come back. Keep them safe from being attacked. Another one told him that enough was enough. He should not run anymore. Instead, he should make his stand and hold firm, because obviously they were still in danger when he was not around. He knitted his eyebrows.

“I'm not leaving you GoGo.”

“I'll be fine. You've got to keep everyone safe.”

At her words, he felt angry. Not at her, at himself. How could he have had let himself have the mindset for so long? How dare he inflict those thoughts onto others? He shook his head and frowned.

“No. I'm not leaving you. You're in danger whether or not I'm here,” he closed his eyes and heaved a sigh, “I'm tired of running away, GoGo.”

He knew she was staring at him like he was probably crazy. He knew she would probably force him to leave. But he did not want to be a coward anymore. He wasn't expecting her to place her hand gently on his shoulder. Hiro opened his eyes to find that she was standing in front of him, beaming like Honey would. His own expression softened.

“It's time for me to make a stand. And I now know that I don't have to do it alone.” he told her. She smiled.

From the window, which he realized had been smashed, red and blue lights filtered into the room. They both looked around and saw an ambulance and a police car arriving in front of the apartments. They looked back at eachother. GoGo nodded at him, encouragingly.

“Time to go home.” he told her with a smile.

 


	8. Chapter 8

His leg shook uncontrollably. He tapped the top of his helmet in beat of the clock on the wall. Hiro had just come out of questioning. The police had asked him about both him being at the apartment and what exactly he had been doing for seven years. Of course Hiro told them everything... except all the illegal things. He didn't really need to be arrested, not when he was about to go home.

Now he sat in the back offices, surrounded by desks and listening to time fly by. The clock was relentless. With every tick he was beginning to regret his decision to turn himself in.

Tick, tock, tick, tock.

Tick. His anxiety rose. Tock. His heart felt like it was dropping further and further into his stomach. What if they didn't want him back, after all? What would Aunt Cass say? What would Tadashi do? They could pick him up and drop him off on some street corner for all he knew.

No, no, no. His family wouldn't do that. They'd be happy to see him. Why would Tadashi say all those good things about him on the television if they didn't want him back in their lives.

Hiro rubbed his face and chanced a look at the clock. 9:03. It had been twenty minutes since the officer said they were calling his aunt. She'd be here any moment now. He wondered if Tadashi had left her after they disappeared from his sight. Somehow he doubted it. Tadashi loved watching movies with Aunt Cass after dinner. That wouldn't have changed about him, how could it?

He heard the doors at the front of the building swing open. Footsteps, rushed voices. His mouth felt dry. What was he going to say? What _could_ he say? Footsteps again, this time closing in on the room he was sitting it. _No._ He wasn't ready. He wasn't ready to look them in the eyes and see their disappointment.

When the doors burst open, he closed his eyes tight. The clock was quieter now, but he could still hear it matched up to his heavy heartbeat. It felt like ages but someone touched his shoulder softly. He relaxed at their touch. He had been so tense, even his teeth were hurting now that his jaw slackened.  _You can do it._ He thought, biting his lip.  _You can open your eyes._

And so he did. Slowly. He turned his head upward to see his aunt standing above him with an expression of joy. Her face split into an even bigger smile when they locked eyes. She had been crying, her eyes were puffy and red. Aunt Cass held out her arms. She didn't say anything. He didn't need to be told. He jumped to his feet and landed in his aunt's arms. He buried his face in her shoulder. She smelt good, like home. Bakery goods, buttery popcorn, pomegranate shampoo, and cat fur. That was home. The scents overloaded his senses, sending him back to a simpler time when he was a ten year old. Tears filled his eyes and even though he was trying to keep them from falling, they wet her shoulder. If she felt it, she didn't react. She just held him.

“You've gotten so tall.” she said, taking a step back from the hug and taking in his appearance.

Hiro sniffed and rubbed his nose with the back of his hand, smiling a little.

“You still have that tooth gap.” a man's voice said from the door.

He looked up. Tadashi. So he did come.

Hiro's anxiety, if it hadn't already, disappeared. He looked at Aunt Cass, who nodded. With her permission, he ran straight for his brother. They collided, Hiro throwing his arms around his brother and Tadashi catching him. Again, another wave of nostalgia hit him when he breathed in. Tadashi had not changed his body wash, sea salt. That was barely noticeable, though, over the smell of plastics and metals. He'd been building something recently. Hiro was reminded of the times when Tadashi would come dragging his feet into their bedroom after spending three days in his lab at his school.

This time, he was the one to pull back, but he didn't say anything.

Tadashi grinned at him, “Are you ready to go home, bonehead?”

Hiro's eyes darted from Tadashi to Aunt Cass and back to his older brother. He nodded, “More than ready, nerd.”

–

“We didn't change anything on your side of the room.” Tadashi was telling him as they ascended toward their shared, loft bedroom, “Though Mochi has taken a liking to your bed.”

“I don't blame him.” Hiro replied.

The ride home had been quiet. Hiro had been trying to hide himself from anyone who could have possibly looked into the car when they were stopped at intersections. He did not want people knowing he was home yet. GoGo had told him before the police had showed up that she had told whoever had broken into their apartment that he had split town. Which was perfect. Samuel didn't need to know where he was. Sure, they no longer had the diagrams, but he didn't need them. All he knew was that Samuel was up to something dangerous and he was the only one who could possibly stop him.

When they had arrived at the Lucky Cat Cafe, Aunt Cass told Tadashi to take Hiro to their room. She would get them water and fruit. Hiro knew she didn't want to go to sleep yet, but he also knew that she had to be incredibly tired. His aunt would go to bed at 9 PM and she was emotionally drained. It was now pushing 10 PM.

Tadashi opened the door and went through. Hiro followed him. He was right, nothing had changed on his side. Their shared desk space was hardly different, either. The shelves holding multiple action figures were still mounted to the wall. His posters were still hanging strong. Even his bed sheets were the same. The broken clock that never moved past 2:16 was left untouched.

He walked over to the bed and sat down. He bit his lip, trying to hold back his emotions. Hiro couldn't let his emotions get the better of him, not right now. He needed to talk to his brother.

“Tadashi, we need to talk.” he said, looking up at Tadashi with tired eyes.

Tadashi shook his head, “We can talk some other time. You need to rest right now. I think my old pajamas are still here.” he began walking toward his dresser.

“No. We need to talk _now._ ”

His brother stopped and looked at him. Hiro's eyes were serious even though he did feel like he would pass out any second. Tadashi swallowed and walked over to sit next to Hiro on the bed. “OK, I'm listening.”

Hiro's eyes softened, “It's very complicated. And I'm going to say what you think I'm about to say.”

“What is it then?”

“No one, absolutely _no one_ can know I'm still in San Fransokyo.”

Tadashi stared at him with a curious look, “And why is that?”

“Like I said, it's complicated. I've been around very, very bad people for the past couple years. They're up to something and they kind of... want me dead.”

Tadashi was quiet. So quiet that Hiro thought he might have stopped breathing.

“What do you mean, someone wants you dead?”

“Like I said, it's complicated.”

“It can't be _that_ complicated. Tell me what's going on, Hiro.” Tadashi narrowed his eyes.

Hiro twiddled his thumbs, pursing his lip. It was only fair that he tell his brother what had happened to him and why Samuel wanted him dead. He patted the top of his helm and put it down on the desk next to the bed.

“OK...” he turned to Tadashi, “Well, I got involved with some very bad people... unknowingly.” he watched his brother's face bend and contort as he recounted his past couple years. He explained quickly and quietly, knowing that their aunt would be at their door any moment and she did not need to hear what he was saying. Hiro told him everything, from becoming a “vigilante” to the scene in the apartment.

Tadashi held up his hand, looking a little confused, “So this helmet... it's not just something cool for atheistic. You actually are... And that outfit-- you...”

“Yes. I am,” Hiro rubbed his head, “like I said I'm not sure what he's up to, but it's serious. And no one can know I'm still in San Fransokyo.”

“You're gonna have to tell Aunt Cass,” Tadashi stood up and picked up Hiro's helmet, “you know she'll start telling people that you're back.”

“Yeah... I'm just not sure how to tell her.”

Tadashi opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted by ringing coming from his back pocket. He fished his phone from his jeans, checked the caller ID and told Hiro, “One moment, kiddo.” He turned, putting his phone to his ear, “Hey hunny.” Hiro could hear the sound of a woman on the other end of the call, “No, everything is fine. I'm just at my aunt's. She drank too much at dinner so I'm going to keep an eye on her tonight.” Tadashi wasn't someone who lied and here he was, lying to some woman for Hiro. “Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow. G'night. Love you.”

He hung up and turned back toward Hiro who was giving him a curious look, “What? You didn't expect me not to have a girlfriend, did you? Anyway,” he tossed the helmet around in his hands, “it sounds like you're going to need help.”

“I have Honey Lemon, GoGo, and Fred...”

Tadashi gave him a half-grin, “Do you really think the four of you can do it?”

“Why not?”

“Look, I want to help you so you don't have to live in shadows anymore,” he tossed the helmet at Hiro who flinched at first but caught it, “So I'm _going_ to help you whether you like it or not. Besides...” he dropped into the computer chair, hitting the mouse by accident and turning on the screen, “the faster you are getting back into the light, the faster you can help me with the company.”

Knocking on the door prevented Hiro from replying. Aunt Cass pushed it open with a tray in her hands, “Here's some food.” she crossed the floor and placed it on the desk.

“Thanks, Aunt Cass.” Tadashi said. Hiro stood up and peeked at the food over her shoulder. Apple and orange slices, not overly fancy but they still looked amazing. He had not eaten since before leaving the apartment earlier that day to create their suits.

“Thanks...” he said, giving her a small smile.

She set her hand on the side of his head, giving him a teary smile. “I'm so glad you're back,” with a tiny pat to his hair, she said, “Well, it's been a long day. I'll see you boys in the morning.” she was about to pull back but stopped and wrapped her arms around Hiro, “One last hug.”

Hiro hugged her back. He could feel her smile against his shoulder. When she pulled back, she patted his cheek then turned around to give Tadashi a hug. Then she was gone.

“You're right...” Hiro mumbled after their aunt left, “I'm going to need all the help I can get.”

Tadashi picked up an apple slice and bit into it with a nod, “You should get some sleep, though. You look dead tired.”

“So do you.” Hiro told him, reaching for an orange slice, “Doesn't mean you're going to.”

Tadashi rolled his eyes and pushed the platter toward his brother more, “Just don't stay up too late, knucklehead.” He got up from the chair and disappeared behind the rice paper wall.

Hiro rubbed his eyes and grabbed a hand full of fruit before leaning back on his pillows. He stared at the ceiling for a long time, even after Tadashi tossed his old pajamas onto his bed and turned off the lights. Thoughts of everything that had happened between the last time he had been in this room and to this moment floated in and out of his mind. Reuniting with his family had not been as bad as he thought. It had been nerve-wrecking leading up to it, but the moment he saw his aunt all his anxiety melted away. And Tadashi didn't question him about anything, didn't pressure him. In fact he had done the opposite. If Hiro had not asked to talk to him Tadashi probably would have let things go and never brought the subject back up.

He slowly chewed on an apple, going over their conversation in his head. His brother wanted to help him come back to the light, even if it meant lying to his girlfriend-- which Hiro had not even thought he would have a significant other. It wasn't a strange thing, but the idea was foreign to him. Tadashi had been doting on Hiro for as long as he could remember and never did Tadashi talk to him about any girls. Why should he, though? Why would fourteen year old Hiro Hamada care about his brother's crushes. Fourteen year old Hiro Hamada had been too full of himself to care about anything but bot-fighting and causing trouble for the cops and his family.

Hiro turned on his side and looked at the computer screen that had been dimmed out, but he could still see what page the browser was open to. Tadashi's company. There was a picture of him and his creation, Baymax, standing in front of a hospital. Hiro stared at it for a long time.

If he hadn't run away, what would have happened? Maybe he would have been the co-founder to his brother's company instead of that... what was his name? Warthog? No, it was something to do with food. Hiro couldn't remember it. Either way, would he have? Tadashi had mentioned that he wanted Hiro to come out of the light, join him in working at his company. How would he be any use, though? Yeah, sure he was smart, but half the time he could not think of any new tech he could invent. The Baymax nurse-bot had been revolutionary. How could he think of anything good enough to be a part of such an amazing circle.

Tadashi said he wanted to help him... but how was he supposed to help Tadashi help him if he could not think of a way to make it possible?

Eyes drifting, they began to close when they caught sight of something that made him sit up. An extra part of Megabot that he had created just in case the bot had needed a repair. His eyes widened as his thoughts ducked and weaved through his mind, connecting two and two together.

His face broke out in a grin, “I have an idea!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hihi everyone. Sorry this one took longer than my others to post. My laptop is unforunately fried and I've been having to write on my mother's computer... which is horrible. I can barely browse tumblr let alone write.  
> Please be patient with me. My new computer will be here by the end of the week. And it'll be amazinggg 8D


	9. Chapter 9

He was running through the dark, alone. Nothingness surrounded him, like everything but him had been swallowed by black. Shouting did nothing, when he tried the sound was stale. There was no echoes in this place, there was nothing for the sound to bounce off of until it either faded out or reached someone’s ears.

He was alone.

Eventually he stopped running and sank to his knees. Trying to find something, someone, anything in this place was impossible. It was no use. Nothing remained in the darkness.

Loud cackling behind him made him look around. Hiro didn’t need to see who was making it to know who it was, but turning was just instinct. He should have run but he didn’t. A maroon figure stood over him, lifting something that looked like a cane over his head. He closed his eyes, waiting for impact.

“Hiro!”

He woke with a start, pushing away from the desk with the adrenaline from the dream and hitting a blue trash bin. Someone grabbed his rolling desk chair before he went toppling over it in. Heart racing, clinging to the chair that was still tipped backwards, he looked around at Tadashi who was keeping him from hitting the ground.

“You can’t take a break for a second, huh?”

Tadashi looked like he had just woken up. His hair was everywhere and he was still wearing his pajama pants and shirt. He also looked like he had just suffered from a panic attack, but why?

Hiro let out out a sigh and Tadashi let go of the chair, letting it fall back onto all its wheels. “Sorry,” Hiro told him, “I was making something.”

“Obviously. And you gave me a heart attack. How long have you been down here?”

Hiro scratched his cheek, looking away from Tadashi with a sheepish expression, “I’m not sure? I came down here after you fell asleep and… Oh!” he glanced around the garage and grinned when he saw the silver and black helmet resting on the desk on the opposite side of the room, “You’re gonna love this.” he rolled over to the desk and grabbed the helm before bolting back to Tadashi, nearly rolling over his brother’s barefoot.

“Watch it…” his brother stepped back.

“Put this on.” Hiro demanded, holding out the helm to Tadashi. It was sleek, similar to his own but the glass was black like sunglasses. Tadashi took the helmet and slid it over his head, “Now I want you to imagine a shield, like one you see in those medieval or viking movies, on your arm.” He couldn’t see his face, but Hiro had a feeling he gave him a sarcastic look, “Trust me! Just do it! It’ll be cool.”

Tadashi slackened his shoulders and held up his left arm. Something rattled from within a second trash bin, making Tadashi shift uncomfortably. Hiro just nodded and smiled, encouraging him to continue. Seconds later, the top of the bin burst open and tiny bots came flying at Tadashi who shrieked and held up his arms to protect himself from being smacked around by the cloud.

Of course it didn’t hit him.

Hiro watched as the bots swirled around his brother’s arm, forming a heater shield. Tadashi realized that the bots were not hurting him and straightened up. He began to examine them, much to Hiro’s delight.

“Like’m? I call them microbots. They’re controlled by the cranium transmittor in your helmet. Think something, and they’ll conform to your thoughts. I fell asleep while the 3D printer was producing them so I think there’s only about a five thousand of them in the bins right now. I want to get at least twenty-thousand of them before—”

“Impressive.” Tadashi cut him off, “One question though.”

“Shoot.”

“Why is the glass dark?” he tapped the helm with his right hand.

Hiro grinned, “Well a superhero team has to have one of those dark mysterious guys or it’s not as cool! Besides, you’re a CEO of a company, I figured you want to keep those two things separate.” he pushed himself toward the computer again and pressed the print button for the microbots once more.

“OK well… I’m going to go tell Aunt Cass that you didn’t run away again and that you’re goofing off in the basement,” Tadashi flinched, “Might have accidentally woken her up when I didn’t see that you were upstairs and now she’s worried sick.”

Hiro turned to him, tapping a pencil against his finger, “You go do that… but first make sure to put tho—”

Too late, Tadashi had pulled off the helmet and sent the hundred or so microbots gliding across the floor. His brother blinked, absorbing exactly what he had done before grinning at Hiro, “That’ll take some getting used to.”

He tossed Hiro the helm and turned to leave. When he reached the door, he stopped and looked back at Hiro, “By the way, I’m visiting Honey Lemon today at the hospital… if you want to tag along that’d be great.”

Hiro drummed his fingers against the helmet. The logical thing for him to do for now was stay hidden, but when did he ever do anything logical? Besides, he needed to make sure Honey was going to be alright. “Yeah OK. I’ll meet you there, though.” Tadashi didn’t question his brother’s decision to go to the hospital separately, but did give him a cautious look. Hiro just grinned at him, “I swear I’ll be there.” he told Tadashi and then slipped on the helmet. All the microbots that Tadashi had sent across the floor picked themselves up and landed inside the bin with a satisfying _cush_ sound.

–

Like he had promised, he landed in a few bushes outside the hospital. Tadashi had left maybe thirty minutes before he had, surely he would be there by now. Hiro hoped that Honey Lemon would be on the ground floor and he wouldn’t have to scale the building and risk being caught. Luckily he didn’t have a problem finding her room. The window was propped open and he could hear the stream of conversation coming from it. He wasn’t quite sure what they were saying, but he recognized his brother’s voice.

“I can’t believe you guys would keep this a secret from me.”

Hiro stopped dead in his tracks. Tadashi, who was usually so level-headed, sounded upset. The tone in his voice was so foreign to Hiro that he almost couldn’t believe it was his brother. But no, it was him. He spoke again.

“I kept telling you guys that if you knew anything you should contact me immediately.”

“We weren’t going to betray Hiro’s trust. Besides, you said he told you his story. That bitch breaking into our apartment last night was proof of it!” GoGo snapped back.

Hiro found himself sliding down the wall and crouching under the window to listen. He knew that Tadashi had a right to be upset, but he didn’t need to lash out at GoGo like that.

“Well if you had just told me I could have contacted the police and—”

“Do you really think the police would have believed that? He’d be locked in the loony-bin for sure!” scrapping of a chair, someone had stood up.

“Guys,” Honey pleaded, “What’s done is done. Don’t fight. We need to concentrate on saving Hiro.”

There was an awkward pause in the conversation. Hiro swallowed, only to realize that his mouth had become dry.

“You said Hiro will be here soon, right?” Honey continued, “You don’t want him to hear you guys arguing about this. C’mon, GoGo sit back down.”

At her words, he heard her flop back into her chair.

“So, what? Are we going to follow through with his plan on forming this super hero team?” Tadashi asked in such a low voice that Hiro almost couldn’t hear him.

“He needs our support on this, Tadashi.” Honey reasoned.

“It’ll be dangerous though. I don’t want to see any of you hurt.”

“We’ll be fine.” GoGo told him, “Besides, who doesn’t want to be a super hero?”

It took Tadashi a minute to answer her, “I guess you’re right.”

Tadashi was… unsure about helping him after all. Hiro placed his hand on the top of his helmet and felt himself curl up a bit. So he really was just a burden…

_No, don’t think like that. And definitely don’t cry._ He looked up at the sky and straightened his back, breathing in deeply and letting air out slowly. Maybe Tadashi was actually just worried about his well-being, maybe he was not a burden. Yes… that’s right. He had said he wanted Hiro back in the light. He had said he wanted Hiro to work for his company. _I’m not a burden._ He told himself, even though he had a hard time believing it.

He had to go in there and make sure Honey would be OK.

He hopped onto his feet and pushed the window open more. GoGo stood up as he began to crawl in. She looked as battered as he’d left her with the ambulance the night before. Her swollen eye had turned into a black and blue bruise and her lip had a huge red line cutting down it.

“Hiro!” Honey smiled. He waved at her as he hauled his legs through the window. Honey looked to be in far better shape then GoGo was, but he knew better than that. She was the one laying in a hospital bed, not GoGo.

Once he was completely inside, he walked up to her and asked, “How’s the head, Honey?”

“They just kept me overnight. I’ll be able to leave here once the nursebot comes back and says it’s OK.”

“Of course, we can’t go back to our apartment.” GoGo grumbled, crossing her arms.

“Why not?”

“It’s a crime scene…” GoGo told him as if it were obvious. Which it was. Hiro bit his lip.

Tadashi quickly stepped in, “Do you have a place to stay?”

“We were thinking about renting a hotel room until the police tell us it’s OK.”

“Oh, don’t do that, I’m sure Aunt Cass would be OK if you guys stayed in her guest room.”

Honey and GoGo exchanged glances. “Are you sure?” Honey asked.

“Positive.”

A giant, white marshmallow of a robot waddled into the room. It crossed over to the bed and everyone watched as it settled next to Honey Lemon. “Scanning, scan complete.”

“Wow that was fast.” Hiro murmured.

Tadashi grinned cheekily, “That’s the Baymax unit for you.”

Hiro looked at his brother who was beaming at the marshmallow robot with pride. He looked so happy, so happy that Tadashi seemed to almost glow.

“Brain activity is reading as normal. You may experience some irregularity for the next few days. Please make sure to rest, avoid stress and vigorous exercise for at least three days. You are free to leave the hospital now.” the Baymax finished his speech, turned, and waddled out of the room.

Tadashi looked around at Hiro, “Admittedly, the copies aren’t as cuddly to adults as the original, but they still work.”

“I see. Brilliant. I’ll have to take a look at your original model later.”

His older brother grinned, “Well, we should let these two get ready.” he turned to Honey and GoGo, “We’ll see you at the cafe.”

“Yeah, yeah…” GoGo replied.

Tadashi waved and left through the door.

Hiro retreated to the window and began to climb out of it again. He was stopped by GoGo calling out for him. He looked around at her.

GoGo drummed her finger tips together, “Are you… sure us staying at your aunt’s is a good idea?”

Hiro narrowed his eyes in confusion, “It wasn’t my idea in the first place. Why are you asking me?”

“Because, we don’t want to make this hard on any of you… especially since you’re not supposed to be in the city anymore.”

He paused. Right. There was a good chance that Samuel had a few of his lackeys keeping an eye on the two of them, just in case he showed up. He shook his head, “It’ll be fine,” he told her, “You need a place to stay, I’ll just not leave the house until your apartment is open again.”

GoGo pursed her lips but nodded.

“I’ll see you there. Make sure to grab your suits from Fred’s. You never know when you may need them.” he waved and climbed out of the window.

–

He still hadn’t told Aunt Cass but she was pretty quiet about his return to the Lucky Cat Cafe. Maybe she was waiting to see if he was actually going to stay, or maybe she had overheard their conversation. Either way, he was grateful for her silence.

Hiro lay on his bed, listening to the sounds of the cafe below closing up shop. Tadashi had gone downstairs to meet GoGo and Honey Lemon, leaving him alone to his own devices until they came upstairs to begin dinner. He sat up and slid over to the computer. Seven years had not erased this knowledge of computers. But it had made his fingers not used to the sleekness of the keyboard. He ran his palm across the keys. Oh, he missed the perks of middle-class life.

“Hiiiiro!” Aunt Cass called from the stairs. He had barely begun streaming a song. Hiro paused the video and rolled away from the desk to hop down the stairs.

The first thing he saw was Honey Lemon and GoGo both sitting at the table, plates already set. He scratched the top of his head. Maybe the sounds of closing the cafe had actually been Aunt Cass cooking dinner. Was he that out of tune with his surroundings?

“Oh good, Hiro.” Aunt Cass set a giant bowl of salad, covered in croutons and cheese, on the table. Tadashi followed behind her, setting a platter of chicken parmesan next to the salad. “Dinner is ready.”

“It looks great Aunt Cass.” he told her, rushing over to her and giving her a hug. She seemed a tad surprised by his gesture, but returned the hug. Hiro had to admit that he wasn’t the most cuddly person as a preteen. He had not liked affection very much. But he had to make up for lost time. He would hug his aunt every chance he got.

“I’m sorry the guest room only has one bed in it.” Aunt Cass was telling Honey and GoGo as they all settled down to eat, “No one usually stays over… on occasion my father will, but he hasn’t come over in a few years.”

Hiro hadn’t even thought of his grandfather in years. He watched as everyone scooped salad and chicken onto their plates while his mind wandered towards the old man visiting them every so often. But he had stopped visiting after Hiro had turned six. He could barely remember the man, only the smell of cigarette smoke lingered in the wisp of a memory.

“It’s perfectly fine,” Honey reassured, “we’ll treat it like a sleep over. Gossiping about boys, polishing our nails! The list is endless.”

“The phrase is painting our nails, not polishing.” GoGo told Honey as she focused on cutting the chicken piece on her plate.

“I’ll start saying that when it’s called ‘nail paint’.” she defended, giving GoGo a look.

Tadashi chuckled, making Hiro’s thoughts do a complete turn from his grandfather to the helmet down in the garage. He drummed his fingers across the table and turned to GoGo, “Did you guys pick up the things from Fred’s?”

GoGo nodded at him, “They’re in our suitcases.”

“OK, good.” Hiro stabbed a piece of lettuce.

Aunt Cass never questioned what they were talking about, or how Hiro knew GoGo and Honey. In fact she acted as if everything was alright. She chatted with the two girls easily. She asked how Honey’s job search was going, how GoGo’s athletic shop was fairing. His aunt made everything seem like it was normal, like everything would be OK. Hiro chewed slowly on a piece of bread.

Maybe everything would be alright.

Of course that was false hope.

Down in the cafe, a door slammed. Everyone got quiet. Tadashi stood up and began inching forward. Hiro watched as his brother grabbed the old baseball bat from the ajar closet. When he disappeared down the stairs, Hiro fought back the urge to follow him. He knew better than to expose himself. Really, he should run upstairs and wait for an OK. Before he could do that, he heard Tadashi speak.

“What are you doing here, Melony?”

“Oh… it’s his girlfriend.” Aunt Cass let out of a sigh of relief, putting her head in her hand.

“Girlfriend?” GoGo looked suspicious.

There was giggling from downstairs, “I was getting worried. You weren’t returning my calls or texts! So I let myself in.” there was a jingling of keys, “Is your aunt OK? She got over her hangover, I hope?”

Aunt Cass didn’t bother hiding her confusion.

“Uh yeah.” Tadashi said.

“Let me go say hi! I brought cake!”

“Wait no, the kitchen is—”

Too late, the bouncy-sounding woman came running upstairs before anyone could do anything.

GoGo stood up, her chair crashing to the floor. _“You!”_ her voice hissed, sounding as venomous as adder’s bite.

Hiro also stood up and clenched the edge of the table as he stared at the woman in front of him. She was tall and dark-skinned. There was a chuckle that resonated in her throat. She pushed her platinum blond hair out of her face, letting the cake box tip out of her other hand and smash against the floor.

The cake had to have been red velvet. It splattered across the floor, spreading maroon and blood-red icing across the floor. For a second, he saw the maroon figure standing above him, ready to strike.

“Like I thought, you didn’t skip town… _Hiro._ ”


	10. Chapter 10

Tadashi had not come upstairs yet.

Hiro was shaking. No, he didn’t want this. She wasn’t supposed to show up, anyone but her. Hell, even seeing Samuel again would have been better. He needed to run— no. He needed to stay. Protect. He needed to protect his family.

He slowly began reaching backwards to grasp a serrated steak knife.

“So you’re not as spineless as I thought you were.” the woman continued, beginning to slither her right hand into her coat pocket.

“I-I’m not afraid of you, Collie.” His voice shook. Way to sound brave, stupid.

Collie shook her head, “It sounds to me like you’re still the same old Hiro. Can’t barely stand up for himself let alone others. Are you going to run away again?” Her hand was completely in her pocket now.

Tadashi was still downstairs.

Hiro fought against his instincts to flee. He gritted his teeth, his shoulders becoming increasingly tense as his fingers brushed against a knife.

A hand grabbed his shoulder. A whisper close to his cheek said, “It’s OK, Hiro, we’re here with you.”

GoGo was right. He wasn’t alone anymore. There was no need for him to be afraid. He let out a sigh, trying to relax.

Without letting his eyes off Collie, he whispered back, “You and Honey need to get your suits. I’ll stay here with Aunt Cass. And whatever you do, don’t get caught by her. She has gloves that make her strong. I should know…” he trailed off. Collie was pulling her hand out of her pocket. She was now wearing one glove that was wired from fingertip to seam, “I invented them.”

GoGo nodded and let go of his shoulder. He had full grip of the knife now. Hiro glanced around at GoGo, which was a mistake. In the moment he took his eyes off Collie, she darted forward and grabbed him by the neck with her gloved hand. The momentum sent them both onto the table, with Hiro’s head resting in Tadashi’s abandoned plate. He wasn’t able to hiss when the steak knife sliced against his palm, nor when glass shattered under his back.

Collie squeezed his neck, making Hiro gasp. She leaned forward and whispered in his ear, “Now, now. I know Samuel taught you better then to let your guard down…” Out of the corner of his eye, he saw GoGo and Honey shuffle away towards the guest room. He couldn’t see his aunt. Hopefully she had moved out of the way of danger.

Hiro blinked, trying to focus on Collie, but found it difficult as his eyes began to fog over from lack of air. “You found me—” he gasped, “Why don’t you… you just kill me?”

She chuckled and stroked his face gently. If he could, he would have bitten her fingers. “Silly boy, we don’t want you dead. Not yet, anyway. We still have plans for you.” she cooed.

“What?” was all he managed to choke out before her grip tightened more.

“Oh, c’mon. You’re a smart boy. I know you know.”

Hiro’s mind flashed back to the moment when he was sitting in the apartment, reading through Abigail’s journal. He began to move his hand around in feeble attempt to find anything he could use to get her off him. “Teleporter…” he whispered.

If it were possible to move his head deeper into Tadashi’s unfinished salad, she did. “Very good. But you see, there’s something that only you can do for us. Well, that’s a lie. But we want you to die. A slow and painful death at th—!”

He watched as a line of silvery-black bots smashed against her, making her release his throat and sent her into the wall. Hiro gasped and sat up, making sure not to hit his head on the solid beam of microbots above him.

His eyes traveled to the top of the stairs where Tadashi stood in the suit Hiro had design specifically for him.

“Dapper.” was all Hiro could say through huffs of breaths.

Tadashi didn’t respond. He walked forward and up to where he had Collie pinned against the wall. Aunt Cass had retreated to the kitchen and was holding a heavy, iron skillet. She set it down on the counter and rushed over to Hiro to help him off the table. He heard her whisper something that must have been a prayer and he understood why. The sensation of needles stabbing him from his right shoulder blade down the top of his lower back burned through his skin. Glass. And that had been her good set of glassware too.

“So your name isn’t Melony.”

Hiro didn’t bother looking back at Collie pinned against the wall. He could hear every swipe she took with her super-strength glove break microbots away from each other, to no avail of course. Every time she swiped, they would just reform back to their original position. Eventually, with an angry huff, she gave up.

Honey and GoGo appeared at the door of the guest room, both now fully outfitted as well. Honey noticed Hiro’s back and rushed over to him. She said something in Spanish that didn’t sound friendly and was rather un-Honey Lemonish.

“Your name isn’t Melony.” Tadashi repeated, his voice remaining a unnerving calm.

“To hell it isn’t. Is that even a real name?” Collie laughed.

“What was real then?” he asked.

No one could see his face which may have been a good thing. Hiro could hear it in his brother’s voice. He was angry, more so than he had ever been. Hiro only had heard Tadashi once like this before and it had been so long ago he could barely remember anything but the cool calm that carried throughout his memories. It was when he was around four, when Tadashi was eleven. Hiro couldn’t remember the circumstances surrounding Tadashi’s rage. All he needed was the taste of metal in his mouth and the way eleven year old Tadashi’s words were as cold as being tossed into a pile of snow on a chilly, windy day.

“Nothing was real. Don’t you see? I used you! You weren’t suppose to survive the day in the San Fransokyo Tower,” Collie’s voice cackled, “You were supposed to die and fuel Hiro’s feelings of vengeance.”

“Does that mean you…”

“Yes, I set it all up. The lights, the assassin. While Krei Industries took the fall, I’d be off in the background. No one would have suspected your poor girlfriend to be behind the attack.” she tried pushing herself off the wall, to no avail still.

Tadashi stepped forward and inched his covered face toward her, making sure to keep out of reach of her gloved hand. “Well it looks like you failed.”

“No, don’t take that!” Collie shrieked. Hiro glanced over his shoulder finally. Tadashi had ripped the glove off of Collie’s hand and thrown it across the room. GoGo zipped after it, knowing too well that they couldn’t leave it where she could retrieve it easily.

The microbots slackened around Collie and she dropped to the ground and glared at Tadashi, “ _Youuu…_ ” she hissed, beginning to reach into her other pocket, only to be deterred by pink goop that suddenly encased her arm. Honey stepped back, punching more buttons on her power purse and producing another chemical infused ball.

“I’m going to be frank.” Tadashi started, leaning down to her level and placing his hands on his hips, “I never liked how angry you got. Also all the times you tried to make me jealous? Really not necessary.”

An angry spark lit up in Collie’s eyes. Her free arm shot out towards Tadashi’s exposed neck and was instantly engulfed in more pink goop. Honey Lemon continued to produce more spheres and throw them at the angry woman until her limbs were completely stuck to the floor. She shrieked, trying to move her arms and legs.

Hiro pushed up off the chair Aunt Cass made him sit in and staggered over toward Collie. He stood over her, watching her squirm. She didn’t even seem to notice him. Just like how she never paid attention to him unless to strike him down verbally or to scratch his face with her nails when he got in the way.

“You know, emotions… he taught us better, you’re never supposed to feel anything like anger. It just gets in the way.”

She froze at his words. Hiro stooped down to her level, reached into her left pocket and extracted the second glove. He turned to look at the other three in suits, “We need to get out of here.” Honey Lemon nodded. GoGo gave him a “I told you so” kind of look that made him suddenly feel ashamed of himself. This was his fault again. He was the reason behind their need to move.

“You need to go to the hospital.” Aunt Cass said, coming up to Hiro, “You need to get that glass removed.”

He lifted his hand up to silence her, “Too risky. Besides, I know someone who designed a pretty wicked nursebot.”

His aunt bit her lip and scooped him into hug, being careful to only touch his uninjured shoulder and the back of his head. Hiro tenderly hugged her back. He regretted it all. Leaving her in the first place, then coming back and having to leave her again. It had not even been a full day.

He stepped back and looked her in the eye, “Call the police. Explain what happened. Explain that you’re afraid they’ll try to use you as bait to try and drag us back out,” he cupped his aunt’s face, “You _have_ to make them believe you’re in danger, because you are. They’ll protect you.”

“The poliiice!?” Collie’s face turned redder than a tomato.

Hiro shook his head and dropped his arms away from his aunt. He turned to Honey and asked her to get his helmet and jetpack from his room. She quietly obliged and disappeared up the stairs.

“You can’t call the police here!” Collie screamed behind him.

“Trust me,” Hiro said, turning towards her and giving her the stink eye, “The police won’t be near as bad as Samuel if he finds out you fucked up, Collie.”

“Can I break her wrist?” GoGo suddenly pipped up.

Both Tadashi and Hiro looked at her and GoGo put up her hands defensively, “What? If she can't use her wrists she can't hurt us... I was just asking.”

Honey returned with his suit and they began to head out. Everyone, including GoGo and Honey Lemon, made sure to give Aunt Cass a big hug before leaving. When they left her, Hiro could hear her pick up the land-line and begin dialing the police.

“So where do we go now?” GoGo moaned as they stepped out into the chilly night air.

Tadashi pushed up his visor. Hiro looked at his brother’s face, seeing how red his eyes had gotten from the confrontation of his now ex-girlfriend. He watched as Tadashi looked around, rubbed his face and said, “I have an idea.”

—

“Hey, Wasabi!” Tadashi’s voice was cheerful as his partner answered the phone, “Yo, dude I have a big favor to ask you!”

“Dude, I’m having dinner right now with my daughter. Can’t it wait?”

Tadashi could tell that his friend was not in the mood, but unfortunately for Wasabi he had no choice.

“No, not really. I need you to go get Baymax from my apartment.”

“And why can’t _you_ do that? It’s your apartment.”

“Because I broke up with Melony…” Tadashi really did not like lying and it was bad enough that it came so easy to him. People just trusted him and he knew it. It was a heavy burden, knowing people will believe you just because you're a trustworthy person. That was why he hated lying. It could turn out disastrous.

Wasabi sighed, “Fine, but give me about thirty minutes to get her in bed.”

“Alright… but don’t take too long.”

“Where should I take him?”

“To my office.”

“You’re seriously sleeping at your office tonight? Why don’t you just come over and I’ll let you have my extra bedroom for a couple nights?”

“Nope, just please. I’ll explain things when you get here.”

Wasabi didn’t say anything for a bit. Tadashi could hear his daughter talking in the background about a show she had watched earlier that day. The sound made him bite his lip. He didn’t share the fact that he had always hoped to have a child one day, he thought he’d be a great dad. Hiro’s disappearance had put him off that goal. And even now that his little brother was back he had to keep the desire locked away. Not that he could do much about it now, especially after his girlfriend of three years turned out to want him dead.

“Fine. I’ll get him. Melony better not try to slice my throat when I’m there, though.”

“Oh… she won’t.” Tadashi reassured him.

“One thing though. I’m glad it’s over between the two of you.”

Tadashi paused, “Why?” he asked, genuine curiosity lacing his voice. Other than the hiding an assassin in the shadows part, he thought he and Melony had had a pretty nice relationship.

“I never liked her,” Wasabi explained, “something about her just… didn’t feel right.”

“Yeah, you’re right.”

“Well I’ll be there soon.”

“Right, thanks, Wasabi.”

Tadashi hung up the phone and turned toward the others. GoGo was sitting in his chair, phone to her ear as she was still trying to get a hold of Fred. As for Hiro and Honey, they had moved his belongings off his desk and placed Hiro on his stomach so that Honey could start pulling glass from out of his back. He flinched every time she dislodged a piece from his muscles.

“I feel like I spend too much time taking care of your injuries.” Honey joked.

Hiro didn’t look amused. Tadashi quietly took note that his brother still had sauce and salad in his hair. Instead of making a joke about him being a messy eater, he pulled up a chair and sat close to his brother.

“Wasabi won’t be here with Baymax for at least an hour and a half. We’re going to have to wing it for now.” he told them. Hiro smashed his face into the desk. GoGo snorted at his antics.

“He’s not picking up his cellphone.” GoGo told them, “I’ll try his land-line, maybe we can get his butler to wake him up.”

“So Fred was behind this too?” Tadashi asked, “Why is he a ‘superhero’, too?”

Maybe that wasn’t the best question to ask. Everyone grew silent. The only noise was GoGo hitting the buttons to dial Fred and Hiro hissing occasionally.

Finally, someone spoke, “He had the 3D printer.” GoGo told him in a quiet voice. None of them looked at him.

Tadashi knew he shouldn’t be upset. After the past two nights these three had had, he couldn’t blame them for wanting to keep this situation a secret for as long as possible. But he couldn’t help it, he had told Honey Lemon and GoGo that if they knew anything they should tell him. He had told Fred that as well. For years he pounded that into their heads. It felt like they had betrayed him, despite him knowing that they did it for the good of his brother.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts.

“Honey, do you think you can make medicine from that power purse of yours?” he asked, gesturing to the orange purse at the foot of the table.

“The entire periodic table is there… so probably…” she replied, pulling out one more shard of glass that made Hiro shiver noticeably. She looked up at Tadashi with a look of concern, “I don’t know medicine that well, though.”

“I believe in you.” he grinned at her. She smiled back at him.

“Yeah, hi, is Fred there?” GoGo said, breaking Tadashi’s concentration on Honey Lemon. She turned the chair casually, her leg propped up on the table in a spot where she wouldn’t hit Hiro accidentally. She continued to talk on the phone and Tadashi looked back at Honey, who had turned back to Hiro’s back.

She pulled out one more piece and tossed it in the bin, “Alright. I think that’s it. We need to clean up the blood before I try putting antibiotics on the cuts, though.”

“What do you mean _try?_ ” Hiro asked with a bit of a whine in his voice.

“I’ll get some towels from the bathroom.” Tadashi offered and stood up. Honey thanked him with her expression and he retreated into the bathroom that was attached to his office. The bathroom was small and modest. Nothing like you would imagine a CEO of a major company to have. But at least it had fresh linens instead of paper towels. He grabbed all of the towels and returned to Honey.

She uncapped a bottle of water she had retrieved from his mini-fridge and soaked a towel with it, “This may sting. And it’ll be cold.” she warned Hiro. He sucked in his cheeks as Honey placed the cold cloth against his wounds. Tadashi couldn’t watch. He turned around and just listened to Hiro hiss and GoGo yelling over the phone to wake Fred up completely.

“Woman up!” he heard GoGo shout, “ _You_ wanted in on this. You’re part of this group, so get here right away!” she slammed the phone down and he glanced over his shoulder to see her get up from the chair. She passed him and went straight for the mini-fridge to grab something. Once she got a bottle of water and a pack of pretzels from the basket on top of it, she straightened up and turned around to find Tadashi staring at her, “What?”

Tadashi just shook his head and gestured toward the scene behind him. GoGo did a sort of half pout but nodded and walked over to stand next to him.

“I don’t get it. I could watch her take the shards out but not her clean up the blood.” he whispered in her ear.

GoGo tapped the water bottle thoughtfully before standing on her toes to whisper back to him, “Maybe because you don’t want to know how much blood there is exactly? I mean… it’s one thing when it’s just on his skin, another thing when it’s being moped away.” She dropped down again and popped open the pretzels, “At least that’s one theory.”

“Maybe…” he answered, crossing his arms and drummed his fingers on the crook of his elbow.

It felt like hours to him, but Honey Lemon finally stood up and dragged the used towels into the bathroom. Tadashi waited for her to be out of the room before he chanced a look back at his baby brother. His back was not nearly as bad as he thought it would be. It was spotted with small red scratches and indents, though there were two or three worrying cuts. He walked up to the desk. Hiro was laying with his face looking the other direction, his torso was rising up and down peacefully. He couldn’t have fallen asleep, could he?

Honey Lemon came back and stood at the bathroom door with a sharp, unsure breath, “How long until Wasabi gets here with Baymax?”

Tadashi looked down at his watch, “He said to give him thirty minutes to put his daughter to bed… I got off the phone with him about thirty minutes ago.”

“So… do you think it’s worth trying to make antibiotic?”

“You’re a chemistry major.” GoGo said in an exasperated tone, “You were spitting out those chemical sphere things earlier like it was the easiest thing in the world. You can make an antibiotic!”

Honey Lemon looked uncertain still, “It’s been so long since I’ve…”

“We believe in you, Honey. You can do it.” Tadashi told her.

There it was, that trustworthy effect. Honey Lemon smiled, still kind of wary. However, she walked over to the desk and picked up her power purse. She let out a long sigh and stared down at the periodic table on the side of the bag. She looked back around at him again, unsure.

Tadashi placed a hand on her shoulder, “You have nothing to worry about.” he took his other hand and lifted the purse up a little more in her hands, “Besides, isn’t this your favorite thing?”

Her face lightened up immensely and she turned back to the purse with a confident nod. He pulled away and watched her work. One chemical at a time, another tick back in time as she remembered what was needed for the medicine. A few beeps from the purse and the side opened. A white sphere rolled out into her hand. She set the purse down and took a few steps away from them. Instead of throwing it, she took her second hand and placed two fingers on the ball. It smeared when she moved her fingertips around it, making her face split into a smile.

“I did it.” She didn’t celebrate. She bolted back to Hiro’s side and began to spread the antibiotic around his back. The only time he complained was when she touched the larger cuts.

Tadashi shared a relieved look with GoGo. At that moment he realized, maybe this whole thing wasn’t so bad. Maybe he had overreacted. Maybe… they _could_ do it.

“Hey… I’m sorry for earlier, at the hospital I mean.” he told GoGo in a hushed tone.

All she did was punch his arm playfully, “Don’t mention it, dork.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hurting characters is one of my favorite pass times.
> 
> Also do I smell Tadahoney? idk we'll see where the characters take us
> 
> And one final note, I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed and kept up with the story up to this point. I know I was updating once a day when I first started this and that there was a dry spell there while I fought against both computer lag and where to go next with the plot. But it's all coming together! :)
> 
> So thank you, thank you, thank youuu to everyone who has commented and given kudos.


	11. Chapter 11

Hiro squinted his eyes and lifted his head slightly off the desk. He could hear people talking somewhere to his left. Someone sounded upset. He could not tell exactly what was being said, but he didn't really care. He was more concerned with the cool pressure against his back. Propping himself up on his elbows, he looked over his shoulder at his back. White, wet cloths were draped over his back.

Right... he had had glass in his back.

“You know how __insane__ you sound right now?” someone was saying. Hiro slowly turned his head toward the door of the office. Tadashi, GoGo, and Honey Lemon were all standing around an unhappy looking man with a red box under his arm, “You're going after someone who wants you all dead? And you have no idea what he's plotting?”

“Look, we know it sounds crazy.” Tadashi told him in a soothing voice, holding his hands in front of himself, “But it has to be done.”

The man's lips turned into a flat line, his eyebrows furrowed and his pointed at Tadashi with conviction. “You're crazy.”

“We know, Wasabi.” Hiro could hear the eye-roll in GoGo's voice.

Oh... Wasabi. That was Tadashi's partner's name. Hiro pushed himself up, the towels falling off his back as he sat up. The man continued to keep trying to tell his friends that what they were doing was a very bad idea and to stop. His words were beginning to anger Hiro. How dare he tell them that everything they had done up to that point was all for not and that they should just turn away?

“You know. We can't turn back now!” Hiro exclaimed over their angered voices. All four pairs of eyes looked around at him. “We're in too deep now!” he dropped off the desk and immediately regretted the fast motion. A groan of pain escaped his lips.

The red box under Wasabi's arm lit up and beeped. When it began to open, Wasabi yelped and dropped it. Everyone stepped back as the six-foot robot expanded upwards. Once it inflated completely, it blinked and wiggled its fingers before stepping out of the box and waddling toward Hiro.

Baymax stopped in front of him and titled his head to the side, “Hello, I am your personal health-care companion. Tell me,” the screen on the robot's chest lit up and a chart displaying different faces that ranged from yellow to a brilliant red appeared, “how would you rate your pain?”

“Uh... an eight. Listen, this isn't necessary right now, we were in the middle of--”

“I will scan you now.”

“Wait, n--” Hiro reached out his arms to stop the robot, only to flinch at the sudden pain shooting through his back.

“Scan complete. You have multiple contusions to your neck and windpipe. Along with multiple lacerations on your back. Your neck will have to heal over time. However, your lacerations will require stitches.” he raised a hand and a needle popped out of his fingertip, “I come equipped with a needle and thread.”

“Oh, no... I'm really OK.” Hiro ducked from around Baymax. Nope, this wasn't OK. He didn't ask for a giant inflatable man with a needle to sew his skin back up.

“I insist. It is the best way for your back to heel. Leaving it will cause long-term scarring and will increase the risk of infection.” Baymax began to waddle after him.

Hiro ran past Baymax, behind his brother and grabbed his shoulders, hiding behind him, “Make him stop.” Hiro whined.

Tadashi was laughing and it soon spread to the other three standing around the door. Hiro stepped back, pushing his brother slightly. “Unbelievable.” he said, rolling his eyes at the adults laughing so hard that they had to hold their sides.

–

He hated needles. At least Baymax had been gentle when he sewed his skin back together.

They all sat around him as he was forced to stay laying on his stomach until Baymax was 100% sure he could no longer improve the condition of Hiro's back. Wasabi had calmed down, but he still seemed rather fidgety as Hiro explained to him why they were in their situation. Maybe it was because he was watching Baymax stringing a needle through his flesh. Maybe he didn't like the idea of his friends being in danger. Either way, it was getting on Hiro's nerves every time Wasabi flinched as Hiro spoke.

Eventually, Baymax touched his shoulder and told Hiro he could sit up. He did and stretched. Having to lay on a hard desk for almost three hours while Honey cleaned him up and then Baymax stitching him up was horrible.

“Do you get it now?” Hiro asked Wasabi mid-stretch, “We're in way too deep. They've got some dangerous machinery and they're going to use it whether or not we try to stop them. If we're going to die to them, I'd rather die trying to save the city then not try at all.”

Wasabi still looked unsure, “Are you sure this is the only way?”

Hiro nodded, “What Collie said to me.... They don't need me for what they're trying to do, but they'd rather it was me. So I can experience a slow and painful death. I know these people, they'll kill people to get what they want.”

Wasabi bumped his thumbs together.

Sighing, Hiro slowly lowered himself from the desk and crossed the floor to where Honey had folded his suit. He picked up the long-sleeved, vest combination jet pack and pulled it over his head. “You don't have to be apart of this if you don't want to, but you have to let us do it.” he didn't see Wasabi's face when he said this. Adjusting his sleeves, he turned back toward the group around the desk.

The man was doubled over, his face in hands. Any other situation, maybe Hiro would have felt sympathy for him. Not this time. Wasabi had to realize at this point, it really was life or death for them. There was no turning back. He wouldn't have to carry the blame if one of them did die for him, Hiro would. Hiro had dragged them all into this mess.

“No one will judge you if you choose to go back to your family. Live the rest of your days out to the fullest, no matter how few remain for everyone here.”

Wasabi stiffened. Had he hit a sore spot?

“My daughter is in danger no matter what I do.” Wasabi pushed himself up by his knee. He stood with his head down still so Hiro could not read his face, “My daughter is... I need to protect my daughter.” he snapped his head up and held it up high, staring Hiro down, “Fine. If it means fighting for her, I'll join you.”

Hiro placed his fingertips together as he regarded the determined looking man in front of him, “I just have one question.” Wasabi only stared at him and waited for the question. “Do you have anything specific you want your suit to do?”

–

When the sun rose, Tadashi kept the company building closed. He sent a mass email to his employees stating they'd all be receiving a paid holiday that did not count against the vacation days. What a great person his brother was. But not only did that mean his employees got the day off, but they were able to use the company's large testing facility to test their gadgets. Fred had eventually showed up, already in his suit and with three large paper bags full of egg and sausage sandwiches. Least to say, no one complained about his tardiness when they spotted breakfast.

“Hey Tadashi, make a track in the air!” GoGo yelled across the room. He obliged, throwing his hand outward and the microbots followed through with his thoughts. They created a small road which GoGo hoped up onto and began to skate across, picking up speed as she went. When she began to lose track, Tadashi would command the microbots she had already ridden over to reform in front of her.

Eventually she picked up enough speed to be too much for Tadashi's thoughts to keep up. She tumbled off the edge of the microbot track and Tadashi yelped as she began to fall through the air.

It was a good thing Hiro was being attentive. He quickly activated his jet pack and caught GoGo around the waist. They landed and rolled a few feet before finally stopping. Tadashi came running over to them, frantically spitting out apologies. He stopped talking when he realized GoGo was laughing so hard she was doubled over.

Most of the day went like this. Wasabi and Fred sparred. Honey Lemon played around with different chemicals, she had even burnt a hole in the floor then filled it again with a sphere that, once it was exploded and exposed to air, hardened. GoGo sped around the room. Tadashi kept trying to get the hang of the microbots. And Hiro? He sat back and watched. Every time he tried to do something productive, Baymax would remind him of his stitches. The robot had given him a stern talking to after he had zipped off to catch GoGo before she broke her spine on the laboratory floor. Though he guessed he didn't need to get used to his inventions like the others did. For seven years he had been zooming about on a jet pack. As for his newly acquired strength-enhancing gloves, they weren't so hard to get accustomed to. Instead of exercising his suit, he enhanced it. He spread the strength-enhancing technology throughout it, from the shoulders, down the spine and straight to the toes. He would be able to lift quite a bit of weight.

By the end of the day, they all seemed fairly confidant in their abilities. They gathered back in Tadashi's office to munch on the rest of the breakfast sandwiches that they had put into the mini-fridge.

“That was fun.” Fred was grinning ear to ear, “When are we going to do that again?”

“Probably not again, at least not here, we can't keep closing the company down.” Tadashi told him. Those words made Fred's shoulders sink.

They continued to chat. Hiro leaned back in his chair and stared out the large windows of Tadashi's office. The sunset was red and orange with specks of blue and purple. It was beautiful. Something that for the longest of time he didn't get he chance to cherish. Red usually was a bad color, the color of the blood that he'd find on his face after Samuel broke his lip with his cane. Blue and purple were the bruises on his ribs. Orange was the only color in the sky that didn't mean something bad had happened to him. It was oddly calming.

Emotions overwhelmed him. Hiro got to his feet and wandered over to the window. He stared out it with the determination he had seen from Wasabi earlier. He felt the passion that Honey had when she was lost in the periodic table. Placing his fist against the window, feeling GoGo's stubbornness with the coolness of the pane. He could see a star beginning to peek out from behind the colorful clouds, reminding him of the glint of hidden wisdom in Fred's eyes when they first met.

“Hiro?”

He glanced back at the group. There it was, Tadashi's compassion. Hiro looked back out into the sky, all the colors beginning to blend into the night. This was it. With the perfect mix of personalities, they could do it. His chest swelled with emotion and he once again looked back at them all.

“No more feeling guilty, guys. This is it,” he took a confidant step toward them and pointed toward the ground, “Right here, we can do this. We have the right mix of people here. We can save San Fransokyo.”

“What's gotten you so empowered suddenly?” GoGo asked from where she lounged in Tadashi's desk chair.

“Do I need a reason?” he asked, jumping excitedly for a second before grinning, “From now on, we'll be known as the Big Hero Six!”

Everyone chuckled. Hiro straightened up and gave them all a look of disbelief, “I'm serious!” he defended.

“We know.” GoGo got to her feet and scooped him into a hug, “We're not laughing at you. We're glad you're feeling better.”

Hiro felt a blush creep across his face, “Y-yeah, I guess.” he murmured.

“Plus it's kinda a funny sounding name.” Fred blurted out.

Honey elbowed him in the side, “But we like it just fine.” she defended.

Hiro grinned as GoGo let him go and he turned around to look at Tadashi, who was leaning back in his chair and smiling at him.  __ This is it.  _ _ Hiro thought as he threw up a thumbs up to his brother and Tadashi returned it.  __ We  _ _ can  __ do it. _ _

–

Collie was screaming bloody murder and Samuel was about ready to strike her across the face to get her to shut up.

“I cannot BELIEVE IT!” she was yelling. She picked up a notebook and threw it across the room. It exploded and most of the pages went flying out of it. Samuel really hated when she was having one of her tantrums.

He drummed his fingers across the desk, his leg bouncing with anxiety. Samuel did not like this turn of events. Collie had managed to trigger her warning signal before she had stupidly been trapped in that pink goo, allowing his other lackeys to get there before the police had arrived at that house. They had retrieved Collie... and the woman who was there waiting for the cops? Well, that was the part that was worrying him.

The phone began to ring. Collie immediately grew silent. At least she knew when to hold her tongue-- sometimes.

Samuel swallowed nervously before reaching across the desk and picking up the receiver. He knew exactly who it was. He pressed the phone against his ear and said, “Yes, sir?”

“I hear... that Hamada boy got away from you again.” an unwelcoming voice said in his ear. Samuel swallowed, “But there is something else you have now. What would you call it? A bargaining chip?”

“We have the boy's aunt.” Samuel told the man quietly.

“Right, right. That's even better. _Her._ I mean, if she's not used as a bargaining chip, then _she_ can use the machine instead of the boy.”

Samuel tensed up. That was the last thing he wanted. Not Cassidy. Anyone but her. He tried to keep his voice strong, but it didn't work. “There has to be another way.”

“If you don't get that Hamada boy to use the machine, then there is no other way. This is your punishment for screwing up, Sam. The machine will be done in less than three days. That is your time limit.” the man on the other side of the line hung up. Samuel slowly set the phone down again and looked at Collie.

He didn't know what to think. Was this karma? Having treated Hiro like that for so many years, only releasing he was Cassidy's nephew only after it was too late... was everything finally catching up to him?

“Collie, we have less than three days to find the Hamada boy. You have one more chance. Don't mess it up.”

Collie puffed out her chest, “I'll try my hardest, sir.” with that, she ran out of his study.

Samuel tapped his fingers together and turned his chair back and forth slowly. He did not like the idea of having to use Cassidy... and that Hiro boy...

He turned his gaze toward the window. The first star of the night had just appeared on the horizon and the colors were blending beautifully into the darkening sky. For a second, he wondered why he had gotten to this point and why he was helping destroy a perfectly good world.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry for not updating sooner. I got my new computer and things just kinda got in the way. :) I'm going to start working on this more now, though! Ty all for sticking with me.


	12. Chapter 12

Someone was shaking him.

“Hiro... Hiro, wake up.”

Hiro slowly opened his eyes. At first his surroundings were blurred from having been asleep, but blinking rapidly cleared it up. Tadashi stood in front of him. Hiro straightened up with an urgency.

“What? What is it? Did something happen?”

“Calm down.” Tadashi told him, raising his hand up and gesturing his brother to relax. Hiro slowly settled back into his chair but he didn't let the worried look disappear from his face. “Oh everything is OK, Hiro. The workers will just be coming into work soon. We have to leave. I'm just waking everyone up.”

Hiro let a calm wash over him. So they had not been found yet. He leaned forward and pinched the bridge of his nose. Even if they seemed safe, he still was not fully at ease. There was always the possibility that Collie got away. That she hurt Aunt Cass and that she was hiding in Samuel's shadow again, ready to strike the moment they left the giant, glass building.

“I know what you're thinking,” Tadashi murmured from where he was standing close to Honey Lemon's sleeping form in his cushy desk chair, “You're worried about Aunt Cass, aren't you?”

Hiro frowned and responded, quietly, “I... wasn't even home for a day, Tadashi. And then Collie had to come a ruin it all.”

Tadashi frowned. Hiro watched his brother's face suddenly become a professional contortionist. His frown turned into disgust, then sadness, then finally settled on a face full of regret. “If I had known what kind of person Melony had been I...”

“It's not your fault, Tadashi. You can't have had known she was a...”

“Bitch?”

“Nah, a manipulative piece of garbage.”

“A psychopathic, trout faced, brat?”

“I like that one.” Hiro grinned.

Tadashi's face split into a smile before he looked back down at Honey Lemon with a soft look, “You know... I had the biggest crush on her back... then. Back at school.”

Again, something Hiro didn't completely understand. Relationships with girls, crushes. It wasn't that Hiro wasn't interested in that kind of stuff. It was just that he never had the chance. His mind wandered briefly back to the girl with the neon hair clip. Of course, he had only seen that girl from a far. He could not even remember what her face looked like. Instead of lingering on the thought, he looked back at the tender expression his brother was showing toward the sleeping Honey. “I mean you're single now.”

“Even so... that was a long time ago.” Tadashi shook his head slightly then proceeded to lightly tap Honey on the shoulder.

It didn't take much to rouse Honey Lemon, much to Hiro's dismay. He wanted to tell Tadashi to go for it, even if it had been a while since he had liked her like that. Those stories about love that he was exposed to as a child, where love flourished and continued even after hard times, they had to be true... right?

Soon enough, everyone was awake. It had taken everyone to rouse Fred but eventually he was also on his feet. The plan was simple. Leave Tadashi's and Wasabi's cars out front so that it seemed like they were at the company's headquarters and head to the back of the building to take one of the company vans. They were large vehicles with the back windows hidden with white, the perfect car for them to hide in. With Wasabi driving, Samuel and his goons would not recognize that they were all in the back.

The building was quiet as they walked. For some reason, no one spoke. Maybe they were all feeling the unease that Hiro was. With every step he took, Hiro felt an impending doom slowly sinking from the crown of his forehead down his spine. It wasn't like they were walking into a trap or anything. As far as he knew, Collie was under police custody and she couldn't have told Samuel all the places that Tadashi would have taken them.

And then it hit him.

“We should not have come to this place.” Hiro's voice bounced off the hallway walls. Almost everyone turned to look at him, except Fred who seemed to be in his own world. “We should not have left Aunt Cass alone with Collie.”

Everyone stopped in their tracks, even Fred who finally seemed to notice the tension in the air.

“But she was stuck to the wall.” Tadashi defended.

Hiro shook his head, “Collie is smarter than not to have some sort of backup. I'm sorry, Tadashi, but you don't know her like I do. You don't know what she's capable of.” he lifted his hand up to his chin, “I'm so stupid to have left Aunt Cass unprotected. We have to stop by the cafe.”

“Hiro... your face is extermely pale...” Honey Lemon murmured.

He had not be aware that all the blood had drained out of his face. Without realizing it, his brain was replaying all the trauma he had gone through under Samuel. And when Samuel was busy, when Collie had her turn with him. In some ways, Collie was worse. She would rake her sharpened nails across someone's skin. And before the gloves he had invented for her, her weapon of choice had been a chain.

Hiro's mouth was as dry as a desert, “We have to hurry.”

–

It was still pretty early in the morning when they halted the van outside of the Lucky Cat Cafe and even then Hiro knew something was wrong. Even if he had not been home for seven years, he knew his Aunt's routine would not have changed much. After making an early breakfast of eggs and toast with marmalade, she would come down to the cafe and immediately begin the opening process. He and Tadashi exchanged glances and quickly went to unlock the door.

A small, older lady perked up as they entered. It was the woman Aunt Cass had hired to run the home shop when she had opened the other locations.

“Ah.. Tadashi and friends!” she chirped, not unlike a bird.

“Miss Yuma,” Tadashi addressed her, “have you seen my aunt?”

“Why... I could ask you the same thing. She wasn't here yesterday. It's not like her to miss work!” the lady told him, “I would have gone upstairs to check on her myself but I'm merely an employee of the cafe.”

Again, Hiro and Tadashi exchanged glances. Before anyone could say anything else, Hiro shot for the stairs that led up to their home. “Hiro!” someone shouted behind him but he didn't wait for them.

He stopped at the top of the staircase, “Aunt Cass!” he called out.

No answer.

There was no way that Aunt Cass would ignore Hiro. Maybe if she had over slept... he ran further into the apartment, past the pink gunk that had suspended Collie and the untouched dinner table that Aunt Cass surely would have cleaned up by now. He burst into her room. Empty. She was gone.

No.

No. No no no. No.

His hands lifted up to his head and his intertwined his fingers in his messy hair.

This was all his fault. He shouldn't have left his dear Aunt Cass with that trout-faced bitch.

He let out his frustrations with a yell and his fist collided with the door frame, causing the wood to break because of the gloves he wore. He rose his fist again, ready to strike something else, but a quiet voice stopped him.

“Hiro...”

The voice of his brother snapped him out of his rage instantly. Hiro straightened up, letting his arms fall to his side.

He had lost it for a second. He had let his emotions get the better of him... even though he had been told, for so long, never to let anger take a hold of him. He had been told never to feel... anything. Of course, he had never been good at that. In the years with Samuel, he was filled with regret, longing, depression, and worse of all... hope. Hope that one day he would return to his family after making the world a better place under Samuel. Hope that one day, all the stealing and illegal work would have stopped some evil plot from moving forward. Hope that maybe... maybe everything would be OK.

“Hiro,” Tadashi repeated. He seemed to have picked up that something in Hiro had shifted at that very moment, “Hiro, say something.”

Hiro turned toward Tadashi but kept his head down. He began to walk forward and past his brother, toward the stairs.

“H-hey, Hiro!” Tadashi reached out and firmly grasped Hiro on the arm.

For a second, Hiro didn't know how to react. He wanted to turn around and start sobbing at his brother but at the same time he couldn't help but feel a murderous rage beginning to fill him up. So instead he simply said, “Let go, Tadashi.”

“Hiro, what's wrong with you?”

“Let. Go.”

“I get it. They took auntie... but we have to be calm.”

“I am calm.” Hiro's voice was so cold he was sure that the temperature in the room had fallen by a degree or two. But Tadashi didn't let go of his arm.

“Hiro...” Tadashi's grip squeezed his arm gently, “What exactly happened to you to make you like this? What did they do to you?”

Hiro's shoulders slumped forward, “Do you really want to know?”

“Of course I do. If I don't know I can't help you.”

He was quiet for a second. Hiro didn't know quite how to process his thoughts into words. Eventually, he started off simple, “They taught me that I should not feel. I was really bad at not feeling emotions, Tadashi. I still am. And I know they were wrong, but... every time I try to take a step out of the darkness I find it drawing me back somehow. I've been in it for far too long.”

Everything was quiet. Tadashi's hand loosened slightly but Hiro didn't move away from him. Finally, Tadashi spoke, “Hey. Look at me.”

Slowly, Hiro lifted his head and looked over at his brother. He was giving Hiro one of the most genuine smiles he had ever seen. One that Hiro used to see every day before he decided to run away.

“You still feel emotions. You still did when you were gone, too. It sounds to me you never completely left the light.” Tadashi tugged on his arm. Hiro felt his eyes suddenly prickle with the threat of tears escaping once more. “Hiro, you've been through a lot. More than myself or the others will ever truly understand. But you're not alone anymore.”

Hiro bowed his head one more time before walking right into Tadashi's open arms. It had taken a toll on him. The past two weeks and a half had been the most emotionally draining weeks of his life. From going to an almost completely empty shell to the sobbing mess in his brother's arms... it was a lot to take in after trying to avoid feeling for almost seven years. And the two of them stayed there for a while. There were no words spoken. Tadashi simply allowed Hiro to expel all the pent up feelings against his shoulder.

He had cried before. Most notably and recently at the beach right after being shot in the leg. He had thought that then was when something had broken inside, but he was wrong. At this very moment, the floodgates were busted open. Everything he had been holding back was pouring down his face and being released with ever sob. Every swing from Samuel's cane, every fall he took from a building.

Eventually, his sobs receded. He wasn't quite sure when, but he had lost the strength in his legs and was now kneeling on the ground with his brother still in front of him. Slowly, Hiro pulled away from Tadashi's shoulder. Tadashi reached forward and clapped his hands on Hiro's shoulders.

“You're not alone anymore, OK?”

Hiro nodded, his lip puckering.

It was going to be OK.

The sound of a phone vibrating broke the moment. Tadashi gave Hiro an apologetic look before reaching into his pocket and pulling out the phone. He unlocked the touch screen and his face went stony. Hiro could see why. The newest notification read, “Text Message from Melony”. The looked at each other, each with the same, frozen expression. Hiro nodded, encouraging Tadashi to open it.

Tadashi's lips formed a straight line but without hesitation he swiped his thumb around the smart phone's screen expertly until the text message screen was clear to see. “If you haven't realized it already, we have your precious auntie,” Tadashi read aloud, “Hiro will know exactly where she is. Be here by sundown in three days or she will be the one to die.” the screen went dark.

Hiro instantly pushed himself up to his feet. “Three days.” he repeated. They had given him a deadline of three days. Why three days? He shuffled his feet, continuing to murmur the words. Tadashi didn't say anything as Hiro seemed to zone out and begin pacing. It was something that happened when Hiro was deep in thought. Neither of them really knew why or how he had picked up the habit of pacing slowly and muttering things softly under his breath but it for some reason helped Hiro concentrate.

Three days. She would be dead by the end of three days? Or would she still be alive? They said they needed him for their project. Or they needed someone to die for the project. “So they might be estimating that that... thing they're building won't be done for another three days. And once they get it by the end of the third day they'll use Aunt Cass in someway to do... something that'll end up with her being dead.”

Tadashi frowned, seemingly at how casually Hiro just said that entire sentence.

“We need to maximize these next three days. Do as much training as we can before then. Find somewhere safe,” he snapped his fingers and pointed at his brother who was still sitting on his knees with his phone in his hand, “D-do you have a company warehouse or something? Collie wouldn't have known the manufacturing side of your company.”

Tadashi shook his head, “We do, but I can't stop the company for working for three days, Hiro.”

Hiro took this with stride. He nodded. Onto the next idea. “Then a different warehouse. Or warehouses,” he paused, remembering something Collie had said during their previous encounter, “Tadashi, what is Krei Enterprises?”

“Krei...? They're our only competition in robotics when it comes to the medical field. They're not exactly known for their nursing bots but they do give us a run for our money, sometimes.” Tadashi explained, “Why...?”

“Collie mentioned them previously. Said she was going to frame your would-have-been assassination on them. But obviously, that failed.” he tapped the leg that still had a bullet wedged between his muscles. He couldn't even feel it anymore, “What about their warehouses?”

Tadashi mulled this over in his mind, “That would be breaking and entering.”

“We can't do _everything_ legally. Especially when dealing with an illegal group.”

Tadashi bit his lip.

“It's either your warehouses or theirs. Unless you can think of a better way.”

“I can borrow one. With cash.” Tadashi finally stood up, slipping his phone back into his pocket, “There are people who are always looking to rent out warehouses for a short period of time. I'm sure they wouldn't mind letting us use it for a while.”

Hiro grinned at his brother, “Let's go save Aunt Cass.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 4/14/17: Oh... hiiii. Sorry it's been aaaa couple years. :3 I got busy. And blocked. But I'm back now? I have to go to work but wanted to get this up. KK bye.
> 
> Update 4/15/17:  
> So I just got back from work and would like to clarify a little more on why I ended up pausing this fic. Unfortunately I got extremely busy between a new-found "social" life and a "40"-hour job. I had gotten writer's block before that, as well, and for some reason just wasn't very confident in this work. It wasn't until 4/13/17 that I just kind of remembered about this and decided to go back and reread it. I realize now how dumb I was for thinking it wasn't good. So here we go. I'm back to finish this fic. And maybe write some more. ~~~Who knows~~~


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